Role of urban and regional planning in national development

On a national scale, economic planning has dominated the scene of development planning process. The framers of all development plans in Nigeria were mainly economist, this explained its dominance. This suggests that physical planning components of development plans have always been relegated to the point of no relevance in the scheme of things. Although economic […]

On a national scale, economic planning has dominated the scene of development planning process. The framers of all development plans in Nigeria were mainly economist, this explained its dominance. This suggests that physical planning components of development plans have always been relegated to the point of no relevance in the scheme of things. Although economic objectives may be achieved, but evidence available suggest that this has only resulted in the concentration of growth in the urban centers. Conversely, this lopsided development resulted into rural-urban migration, which gave birth to some complex urban problems. It is worth mentioning that these problems range from undue strains and stresses on existing urban infrastructural facilities and services, such as electricity and pipe-borne water, incessant traffic congestion and deterioration of general environmental condition, over-crowding, unemployment, poor housing and the proliferation of shanty settlements. It is needless to say that America is developed because it had realized that economic planning deals with broad issues that lead to increase in the Gross domestic product (G.D.P) and Gross National  Savings, while physical planning engages in the translation of these into spatial term for the benefit of all. This has so much fostered social and economic integration in any developed country.

It is noteworthy that during pre-independence Nigeria, the environment and by extension the urban and regional planning profession did not receive any considerable attention. In fact, what was recorded was a selective approach to physical planning issues. The colonial masters, whose major interest was the exploitation of the physical environment for the development of their metropolitan country (Britain), did not spare a minute to take into consideration the backlash effect of their activities to the environment, not to talk more of planning it for the common good of the local people.

In 1945, a kind of pseudo-development plan was put in place from which emerged a ten-year plan for the development and welfare of Nigerian, which came into effect in 1946. However, perhaps, at that period of pre-independent Nigeria, it was not thought proper to emphasize local development policy planning in the country. And of course, the plan did not recognize any of the basic requirements of local development planning, when it declared that there was scarcely a town in Nigeria that was not in a serious need of re-planning and proper laying out for future extension. In order to buttress this deceleration, the Nigerian town and country planning ordinance (1946) was promulgated “for re-planning, improvement and development of different part of Nigeria”, this was to be realized by the means of planning schemes and planning authorities. There was no action to that effect!

It is of great import to state that the revised plan covering 1951 – 1962 emphasized sectoral growth of the economy at the expense of urban and regional planning implication of development projects. There was no spatial integration in that effort. Any economic growth would be futile, if it is not translated in spatial terms for the benefit of the people in terms of social infrastructure and quality environment. The heart of this writer bleeds to observe that the origin of the neglect of the Nigerian physical environment and inevitably physical planning profession lied largely in the colonial era.

This selective approach as bequeathed by the colonial masters unfortunately continued in the post-independent Nigeria. The historical inertia was at the detriment of the country’s economic and physical development. This was equally firmly entrenched in the first (1962 -1968) and second (1970 – 1974) post independence national development plans.  Furthermore, the third National development plan (1975 – 1980) appeared to lay the foundation for reversing this unwholesome trend. The plan (1975 – 1980) emphasized its commitment to a balance development and affirmed that “a situation where some part of the country is experiencing rapid economic growth while other parts are lagging behind can no longer be condoned”. The dichotomy between urban and rural areas came into sharp focus and equally, the acute physical difference between Government Reservation Areas (GRA’s) and squatter settlement was becoming worrisome. This situation of things was clearly recognized in the outline of the fourth national development plan (1981 – 1985), where it emphasized that regional and physical environmental planning “has not been entrenched” and further stated “the machinery of physical planning and administration is indeed rudimentary”. The fourth national development like the previous ones, merely noted the role of physical planning as a veritable tool for realizing national development targets.

In retrospect however, the 1976 local government reform law would have provided the needed impetus for urban and regional planning input at local level that would have in the same breathe checkmated rural-urban migration. But alas the land use act (1979) cut short the efficacy of the local government reform law. The 1979 land use act only reduced planning authorities to the approval of building plans. There are so many bottlenecks to effective planning and physical organization of space in the land use act (1979). And that by extension hampered investment and put national economic development in chains. It will be in the country’s economic interest to review the 1979 Land Use Act.

A close observation will suggests that the ultimate aim of economic development plan is physical. With the exception of Abuja, although it is socially not integrated, Lagos, port-Harcourt, Kaduna and Kano with their obvious manifestation of urban sprawl and large scale emergence of slums, there is no any town or city that has shown  minimal level of organized physical development. Maybe our leaders have failed over the years to realize that even poverty, despite its economic colouration, is physical at the micro level.

It is indeed interesting to note that it took Nigeria 50 years to approve its first ever National Physical Development Plan (NPDP), which by conventional wisdom ought to have been the physical framework of all conceived development plans from independence to date. Happy birthday Nigeria @ 50!

Isah wrote from 1, Kwaru Ajilo Close, Off Majalisa- Badarawa, Kaduna.Email: [email protected]