Chapter 5. Land use and methods to control its use

5.1 Overview
5.2 Case-studies

5.2.1 Planning instruments
5.2.2 Land use
5.2.3 Mixed land use
5.2.4 Vacant land
5.2.5 Control of population densities and regulations on plot sizes

5.1 Overview

The rapid urban development process taking place in developing countries leads to swift and drastic changes in the physical, economic, social, political and administrative structures of the countries and the cities. Governments in all countries at all times have felt a need to guide and control the important structural changes which are taking place within their domain. This holds true especially for a scarce resource such as land. Moore (1978) has described three main justifications for such government interventions into the private urban land market:

• Eliminating market imperfections and failures to increase operating efficiencies;
• Removing externalities so that the social costs for land market outcomes correspond more closely to private costs;
• Redistributing society's scarce resources so that disadvantaged groups can share in society's output.

Governments have a wide variety of tools available to implement their objectives of regulating land use within its boundaries. These include planning tools, zoning ordinances, building regulations and by-laws, permits, inspections and penalties. What the tools all have in common (in developing countries), with rare exceptions, is limited implementation (Dunkerley, 1983).

A general problem is that, although most Asian cities have more characteristics in common with European cities, such as being fairly compact and usually having an old city core, than with North American and Australian cities which sprawl over vast areas. There are many characteristics which make planning tools mostly developed in European countries unsuitable for Asian cities. Although there is a great variation of situations in the Asian region, there are some common characteristics which include rapid physical expansion and population growth rates, high levels of centralization and hierarchical administrative and political structures as well as features which reduce the productivity of land, such as land speculation. Furthermore, the European planning models used are usually old and out-dated models which most often are not being used in the country of origin any more.

Physical planning in developing countries is most often regarded as essentially static in nature, lacking effective land-use control mechanisms and investment priorities. Planning is restricted by the lack of feasible means to ensure implementation, anticipate market reactions, as well as means to consider the cost implications for various government agencies and the economic impact on various income groups (Courtney, 1983).

The most commonly used planning tools include comprehensive general plans, master plans, strategic plans and structure plans. The broad objective of these plans is to guide the development of the city for a specified time period and to promote the land-use pattern which most efficiently fulfils the objectives of the government. However, experience has shown that general and master plans tend to be static or assume slow-growing cities. These two plans also tend to be too time-consuming, detailed and costly as well as failing to consider the full consequences of economic demand for space. They also tend to ignore how households and the commercial sector alter their demand for land as prices change (Dowall, 1991).

A more appropriate and dynamic planning tool for developing countries is structure planning. This approach highlights the critical issues and prioritizes infrastructure investments which are the key issues for shaping city growth. It provides a broad framework for local decision-making and it involves public participation. The structure plan includes some practical actions which are necessary to influence development towards the defined objectives.

The plans discussed above use different forms of zoning and regulations. Courtney (1983) defines zoning as "the demarcation of a city by ordinances and the establishment of regulations to govern the use of the zoned land. It also includes general rules about location, bulk, height, and thus plot ratios, shape, use, and coverage of structures within each zone". Zoning regulates the use of land in areas for residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural or other land use. Earlier on, zoning ordinances used a scale of intensity which ranged from single-family residential (least intense) to heavy industrial (most intense). This system of detailed designation has proved impractical and modern zoning systems are more flexible.

Some zoning ordinances apply "bulk" control over land and buildings. They aim at controlling the density of population, production and traffic; as well as providing adequate daylight, air, open space and privacy. Older zoning restrictions included requirements of open space around buildings, placement of building by height limitations, setback regulations (from roads), and limitations on shape and volume. Floor area ratios (FAR) is a more modern control mechanism based on a ratio between the floor space of the building and the lot size.

Zoning can be a very powerful planning tool as it permits the government to select which land uses should be allowed. However, zoning is very difficult to implement effectively as, contrary to regulated zoning ordinances, land in Asian cities is frequently used for other or mixed purposes such as residential and commercial use. Mixed-use zoning has been introduced in some large-scale projects for a more comprehensive and flexible approach to zoning, partly to provide a legal process to accommodate the need for using land for mixed purposes. This technique permits significant physical and functional integration of project components. As it is, zoning will work most efficiently as a planning tool when it is complemented with other control mechanisms at the more detailed level such as land subdivision and building regulations.

Subdivision regulations govern the development of raw land for its zoned purpose in much more detail. The regulations define standards for layout and lot sizes, street improvements and procedures for assigning private land for public purposes. Subdivisions provide the essential characteristics of land uses, street patterns and public utilities. The amount of land which is thereby dedicated for public purposes differs between countries and may represent a substantial portion of the total land area. In for example Israel, developers have to reserve 40-50 per cent of the land for open spaces and other public uses (Courtney, 1983).

While subdivision plans and regulations have proved to be a very efficient tool in European countries as a means to force developers to cover some or all the costs for provision of public infrastructure, they have been less successful in developing countries. Problems encountered include the implementation of the subdivision controls and the vast areas, mostly in the urban fringe, where land is illegally subdivided in order to provide more shelter. These irregular subdivisions with high densities frequently cause health, fire and other hazards. The needs and conditions of development in developing countries require a more flexible set of standards than what has been introduced based on European experience. These standards should consider the rapid changes in the urban fabric, relate more to local conditions and be easier to implement. It would be beneficial to introduce, for example, a permissive system of development control whereby certain development within some clearly specified categories does not necessarily require planning and/or building permission. A permissive system would assume that the builder follow development standards but it has to be combined with a system of spot checks and strict use of penalties. A permissive system would free scarce government staff to focus on priority tasks such as controlling negative impacts from industrial development and other health hazards, and implementing innovative planning and development control measures to improve the traffic situation. It would also be possible to introduce incremental development standards which would vary depending on household affordability.

Building regulations are another means of regulating land use. Their main objective is to secure socially accepted minimum standards. Although originally mainly concerned with fire protection, structural safety and sanitation; modern codes are very comprehensive. One of the problems in developing countries have been that adopted building codes often have been based on those from developed/industrialized countries with a different physical, climatological and social environment. The codes have often been inappropriate and increased development costs substantially, making it difficult in particular for low-income groups to afford housing built to legal building standards. Lately, there has been a tendency in many countries to ease building standards by reducing lot sizes and eliminating amenities.

Finally regarding planning and land use, Archer (1984) proposes that "governments should adopt a land policy approach and define their objectives and priorities on land ownership and use; and then formulate measures to marshall and coordinate their various activities in urban development and land use towards achieving these objectives". To assist municipalities in achieving their objectives an appropriate land-use planning system could be introduced. Such an appropriate system may consider:

• Formulation of appropriate, affordable and implementable land use regulations and minimum standards for land and housing development in Asian cities;
• Formulation of flexible planning tools for future metropolitan growth which take into account the economic, social and physical dynamics of rapid urban growth;
• Implementation of "proactive" land development tools which encourage cooperation between the public and private sectors through for example joint ventures and infrastructure-led strategies;
• Adoption of planning strategies, regulations and standards which consider the administrative, political and economical framework of governments;
• Recognition of self-help housing and understanding of other issues characterizing low-income areas including squatter settlements;
• Promotion of productive land use including methods which aim at limiting land speculation and provide access to land for all income groups;
• Emphasis on participatory planning and open planning processes in order to improve implementation and cost recovery for public infrastructure investments; Implementation of as many innovative solutions as possible, considering the extent of the urbanization problem in Asian cities. Land readjustment, land sharing, and low-cost settlement upgrading are some which are available.

The issue of participatory planning has not been discussed above. This approach attempts to include as many of the actors in the urban development process as possible. The rationale is that if people would come to know and appreciate the basic issues of the rational management of resources though participating in plan preparation and implementation, then "they are more likely to accept greater personal and community responsibility for preventing abuse of their resources" (Brammer, 1984).

5.2 Case-studies

5.2.1 Planning instruments

Only three municipalities responded to the questions on available physical planning tools. RAJUK was responsible for town and land use planning in Dhaka and not Dhaka City Corporation. The master plan for Dhaka was outdated but a perspective plan for 1995-2010 had recently been submitted to the national Government for approval. Dhaka City Corporation drew up a development programme annually which included several development schemes. A need for some kind of coordination of the various agencies involved in civic activities was necessary.

Kandy has been selected as one of UNESCO's World Heritage Cities and was preparing a master plan within this programme. Kandy also had town survey plans which were surveyed in 1932 and revised in 1952.

In Makati, the local development plan guided existing infrastructure and local development projects as well as proposed areas for future expansion. Guidance and regulations were also provided by zoning ordinances and the Metropolitan Manila Land Use and Structure Plan. Furthermore, the National Building Code contained rules and regulations for buildings and plots. In the Central Business District, Makati implemented the concept of Floor Area Ratio (FAR) which proved an effective planning tool.

Municipal land utilization had to be in consonance with the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance for Metro Manila which was adopted in 1981. Since updating had not been done regularly, the ordinance was no longer responsive nor reflective of the current development needs and requirements. The Committee on Land Use, Planning and Zoning was therefore created in 1994 in order to develop an integrated and revised zoning ordinance for Metro Manila.

The 1991 Local Government Code gave the mandate to Philippine municipalities to formulate comprehensive multisectoral development plans. The Local Development Council in Makati initiated the 1993-1997 plan and it was approved by the Sangguniang Banyan (local legislative body). Annual investment plans are prepared based on the local development plan. However, integrating private infrastructure projects with the local development plans for Makati had created problems. The shortage of funding had forced the implementation of infrastructure projects to be phased. In addition, in view of outdated municipal land use plans, there had been spot-zoning and special approvals owing to strong demand for business locations.

5.2.2 Land use

Table 5.1 and figure 5.1 show that land-use patterns vary between the different case-studies. However, it is of significant importance while studying the land-use patterns to bear in mind that municipal areas also vary substantially between the municipalities. Whereas the land areas of Bandung Municipality, Dhaka City Corporation and Municipal Council of Penang Island are more than 165 square kilometres; Hué, Kandy and Makati are only about 50 square kilometres or less. The land area of a city typically corresponds to the size of the population in the city (Bandung and Dhaka are large both in size and population). There may also be other relevant factors regarding the density, such as Penang being an island and Makati being part of a metropolitan area.

Table 5.1. Amount of land use for different purposes (percentage)¹

Sources: Bandung (1990); Dhaka: Ministry of Land (1982) and Dhaka Collectorate (1989); Hué: Municipal Land Management Department (year missing); Kandy (1994); Makati: Assessor's office (1993); Penang (1974)

Figure 5.1. Amount of land use for different purposes (percentage)

Sources: Bandung (1990); Dhaka: Ministry of Land (1982) and Dhaka Collectorate (1989); Hué: Municipal Land Management Department (year missing); Kandy (1994); Makati: Assessor's office (1993); Penang (1974)

¹ Based on a CITYNET-study in Bombay, Karachi, Kuala Lumpur and Shanghai (CITYNET, 1992).
² Based on figures from Bombay and Shanghai.
³ Based on figures from Bombay, Karachi and Kuala Lumpur (Please refer to section 5.2.4).
⁴ Based on figures from Bombay.

Bandung and Kandy had the largest percentage of land for residential purposes, about 45 per cent, while Hué had only 11 per cent. Makati being a commercial centre of Metro Manila had almost nine per cent of its land set aside for commercial activities, whereas Penang has less than half a per cent. Almost five per cent of the land was allocated for industrial purposes in Bandung, while in Penang less than one per cent of the land was allocated for industrial use. Makati had almost 44 per cent of institutional land because a vast military area in Makati occupied as much as 39 per cent of the total municipal area. However, even without the military area Makati had still the largest proportion of institutional land (five per cent) while Penang had almost no land reserved for institutional purposes. Availability of land for public purposes will be further discussed in the next chapter.

Many municipalities had large agricultural hinterlands. Bandung, Dhaka and Hué had more than 40 per cent, whereas Makati, being centrally located in Metro Manila, had not indicated any agricultural land. It is important to note that in some municipalities, for example Penang, farming may not necessarily be the main source of income for the landowner whereas the agricultural land may be the only source of income in other municipalities such as, for example, Hué. Penang had most land reserved for recreational purposes, more than one per cent while almost all the other municipalities had less than one per cent. Hué had about 22 per cent vacant land but it is not clear from the questionnaire what it was being used for. Bandung and Makati had less than two per cent, while Kandy had not indicated any figure for vacant land. The substantial amount of land allocated for "other" purposes in Kandy was a 11 square kilometres forest sanctuary and in Makati the indicated figure consisted of 4.05 square kilometres road area. The purpose of the 61 per cent of the land area indicated as "others" in Penang was unclear.

A comparison with a CITYNET-study (CITYNET, 1992) showed that the land allocated to residential and commercial land did not substantially differ. The municipalities in the CITYNET-study had more industrial, institutional and recreational land, whereas the case-studies have more agricultural land. It is likely that the differences in recreational and agricultural land had to do with the fact that the case-studies generally had smaller populations than the CITYNET-cities thereby maintaining more links with the surrounding rural areas.

A comparison of the amount of land available per capita for different purposes showed that only Kandy and Makati had more land available for commercial land use than agricultural which suggests that tertiary economic activities still played an important role in the economy of the case-studies (table 5.2). Furthermore, Kandy and Penang indicated that as much as about 100 square metres of land was available for residential land use per capita. This figure may be even higher than figures prevalent in many European cities and indicated that the cities were to some extent successful not only in implementing their respective minimum plot sizes but also a spacious housing pattern.

Table 5.2. Amount of per capita land for different purposes (in square metres per capita)

Sources: Bandung (1990); Dhaka: Ministry of Land (1982) and Dhaka Collectorate (1989); Hué: Municipal Land Management Department (year missing); Kandy (1994); Makati: Assessor's office (1993); Penang (1974)

¹ The figure includes a military reservation area of 11.55 square kilometres (89 per cent of the total)

5.2.3 Mixed land use

In contrast to the organized single land-use patterns of developed countries from which zoning models developed, mixed land use is a reality in practically all municipalities in the developing countries. Asian cities are fascinating concentrations of people where all types of activities appear to be carried out in most areas. The fact that land is often used for mixed purposes makes planning, taxation and government policies from developed countries difficult to implement. Entirely different approaches are required.

Bandung, Makati and Penang had policies which directly or indirectly allowed for mixed land use. In Bandung, mixed residential and commercial activities required a special permit apart from the usual building permit, location permit (business) and selling permit (store). Mixed land use was subject to a higher property tax in Makati, whereas in Penang each particular land use was required to comply with different applicable standards such as approved plot ratio and density. Dhaka and Hué had no specific policies on mixed land use.

Regarding the availability of monitoring mechanisms, Dhaka indicated that they did not monitor land use. All municipalities implemented land regulations which land users had to adhere to. Bandung and Hué specifically mentioned unregulated land use as a major land management problem.

5.2.4 Vacant land

Although only about three per cent on average of the land in the case-studies was vacant, the figure was as high as 53 per cent in the CITYNET-study. The difference is partly explained by the fact that Karachi was one of the cities included in the CITYNET-study. About 82 per cent of the land was vacant in Karachi, the provincial and National Governments owning most of the land. Considerable tracts of partly serviced land was vacant in Karachi mostly because of speculation and, considering the semi-arid outer areas of the city, the land was not very productive for its most probable alternative use, agriculture. Furthermore, considering the fact that the case-studies had 33 per cent agricultural land use while the figure was only three per cent in the CITYNET-study, it was also likely that some of the agricultural land was being kept for the purposes of land speculation.

The questionnaire included a question as to the main reasons for vacant land in the municipalities (table 5.3). The major reasons were land speculation and lack of access roads, services and capital as well as land ownership disputes and land of low quality. The chapter on land development will further discuss land speculation and the shortage of government funds for the provision of access roads and services.

Table 5.3. Main reasons for vacant land

¹ Makati's reply to this question was not complete. Other reasons may exist.

5.2.5 Control of population densities and regulations on plot sizes

Authorities often stipulate certain regulations in order to control the population densities within different areas, such as minimum floor space per dwelling units as well as regulations on plot sizes. The purposes of these regulations are, among others, to reduce of fire hazards and improve health standards, as well as not to overburden existing infrastructure (roads, water, sewage etc) within the area. The regulations may also aim at the provision of services such as schools and hospitals within a reasonable distance.

It turned out that only Penang among the case-studies had regulations on the minimum floor space of dwelling units. In Penang, the minimum size of a dwelling unit was 51 square metres. However, all case-studies had more or less detailed regulations on plot sizes (information was missing from Hué). The standards varied substantially. The minimum plot size was 152 square metres in Kandy, while it was 120 square metres in Dhaka and 100 square metres for each house in Bandung. Makati had the smallest minimum standards ranging from 36 square metres for a semi-detached rowhouse to 72 square metres for a detached dwelling unit. In Penang, there was a limitation of 120 units per hectare (equivalent to about 83 square metres per unit). It can be observed that some of the minimum plot sizes in the case-studies could probably be difficult to maintain for low-income groups and, judging from visual observation, some of the minimum standards are, in fact, not maintained.

It is interesting to note that, on the one hand, Kandy was the municipality which had the highest per capita amount of land allocated for residential use (103.8 square metres) as well as the biggest minimum plot size (152 square metres). Dhaka, on the other hand, had 120 square metres minimum plot size but the amount of land allocated for residential use per capita was only 16.1 square metres. Considering the small difference in average household size between 4.95 in Dhaka and 4.64 in Kandy, it provides an indication that implementation of land-use regulations such as minimum plot size may be more difficult in Dhaka than in Kandy.

Go to Chapter 6: Availability of public land and public land acquisition