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Urban planning: A GIS experience

Ajit Jere and Ajay Sarin
Autodesk India, Bangalore.

Geographical Information Systems are computer aided decision support and planning tools which integrate data from maps (spatial data) and other auxiliary data (attribute data) for a geographical area of interest. They can be used to create and maintain geographic databases and are eminently suited for what-if-analysis in any planning related activity.

Once the GIS package integrates the spatial and attributed data, the planner has a powerful tool which can be used for information dissemination or analysis. By querying the geographic database in several ways the planner can present the available information in a variety of formats: as printed tabular reports, graphically as map display and map outputs on paper.

The analysis capabilities of a GIS package allow the planner to address what-if questions and work out a variety of action plans in a scientific manner. A number of problems can be solved by geographic analysis.

Typical examples are:

• Town ship development
• Relationships between agricultural parameters such as yield and salinity
• Land capability analysis
• Site locations for facilities
• Environmental problems such as animal migration.

Here we discuss how GIS package can be used for managing rezoning exercise in a neighbourhood property.

Urban Planning Application
Problem Scenario Zoning is the classification of an area into land use districts. Examples of general land use districts. Examples of general land use districts are residential, industrial, commercial, educational and public open spaces. These can be further classified into more detailed categories e.g. Residential which may further be classified as HIG, LIG, MIG and EWS etc.

The responsibility of urban zoning rests with City Corporation or town planning authorities. The city's zoning plan includes a list of all the different zoning categories, as well as a zoning map showing the boundaries of different land use zones. The plan helps to regulate the use and development of land and ensure that adjacent land uses are compatible.


Picture No.2: Rezoning Map

Over a period of time, changing population and commercial needs often necessitate changes to zoning plan. Such changes are known as rezoning. For example, a city layout might need a new school to accommodate the growing number of school children in the area. The city administration could decide to use a vacant agricultural property as a site for school. The zoning of the plot would be changed from agricultural to a public use category. Private individuals or companies can also apply for a property to be rezoned by competing and submitting a rezoning application form to the city's planning department.

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