To put it in a layman's language, Urban and Regional Planning is a course that deals with the beautification of our immediate environment. In a strict professional meaning of the course, the scope of Urban and Regional Planning goes beyond what can be referred to as the allocation of land for aesthetics and convenience but its scope involves development planning--- economic, social and physical plannings. As Lewis Keeble(one of the renowned urban and regional planner) put it," Urban and Regional Planning is the art and science of ordering the use of land and the character and sitting of buildings and communication routes so as to secure the maximum practicable degree of economy, convenience and beauty. Besides planning land-use allofi
tion, Urban and Regional Planning also puts some social, political and economic factors into consideration. This is due to the fact that each society has its own social, political and economic factors which distinguish them from other societies. Urban and Regional Planning protects public interests in land- use and development, that is, the course is concerned with the physical planning of land- use and land development in the common interest of the people of a society. Land-use in this context refers to the subdivision of land in to different types which include residential, commercial, public, recreational, administrative, industrial etc that are, due to some reasons, spatially located in order to avoid misuse or disuse of land and land- use incompatibility. For example, residential and industrial land-uses are incompatible because of the noises and harmful effects of the latter on the environment and man. Thus, the former is to be separated from the latter in order to save man from pollution and other environmental hazards.
Urban and Regional Planning as course of study in the university and polytechnic offers a wide range of opportunities for students who are willing to be good and influential people in the future. To become an Urban and Regional Planner, a student must have earned a satisfactory grade in West African Senior school Certificate (wassce) or National Examination Council( Neco), have a good score in UTME and must apply for admission in any accredited higher institution where Urban and Regional Planning is taught as a course of study. If a student meets these basic requirements, he or she can therefore be regarded as an Urban and Regional Planner after he or she has graduated and written professional courses organised by the national bodies---TOPREC and NITP. Such a student may therefore be regarded as an Urban and Regional Planner after he or she has fulfilled the necessary obligations as demanded by the terms and conditions of becoming a recognised Urban and Regional Planner. A planner is a professional person who designs and plans a geographical space which is either occupied by people or not occupied by people. He plans in relation to the available resources and he or she ensures that all infrastructural facilities are located in an efficient and proper manner in order to enhance accessibility, convenience and beauty. A planner can work with a number of professionals---Architects, Quantity Surveyors, Civil and Structural Engineers, Sociologists, Economist, Political Scientists et cetera. He or she works as an adviser to the government in order to reduce poverty in the society, to reduce--as much as possible---rural-urban migration, to reduce and mitigate transportation congestion, and to ensure, as a major reason for physical planning, the aesthetics and other structural values of the total landscape of the country, state and local levels.
Planning is by and large a professional discipline because it cuts across different disciplines not only in the built environment but in the physical and social sciences. It has been defined by various professionals as the art of making futuristic decisions for the present and future generations in order to ensure a healthy and safe livelihood for the people. But as a student, I will define as the act of intelligently considering the available human and nature resources in a manner through which development will be achieved so that the diverse needs of the people will be met in present and future terms. The major purpose of planning is to establish a clear-cut distinction between 'what should be' and ' what ought not to be'. Planning, by virtue of its meaning, focuses on what 'ought to be' because the society is usually viewed with its social, cultural, economic, religious, political, and environmental components. All these are vital in the society because no society in the world has existed without these components being paramount in their growth and development. As such, planning does not view the society in isolation with a particular component of the above stated components being essential in its developmental process. Rather, it views the society as a corporate whole with the whole components being dependent on one another for effectiveness and efficiency. Planning, therefore, ensures that all these components are combined together in order for them to interrelate and form core components of human and societal development. Due to these component factors, many nations of the world have recognized the purpose of these components and they have attained a higher level in the world. For example, societies like United Kingdom and USA have realised the importance of these components in the creation of an ideal society. Nigeria, in contrast to these developed countries, has unable to realise and recognise the essentiality of these component factors; this is because Nigerian leaders are selfish on their part and the citizens are also over- reliant on the government for survival and development. In a nutshell, planning is key to the development of a nation because there is a saying that: " he who fails to plan is planning to fail; but he who plans shall have a better, if not towards his expectations, future outcomes".
There are several ways of planning a society for a better future. Such ways are simple and realistic because Urban and Regional Planning involves a host of professionals-- sociologists, political scientists, architects, engineers, economists--- in the preparation of an urban, metropolitan, regional, local and national plans which are expected to be adopted and implemented by governmental instrumentalities in the planning process. For instance, an urban plan addresses a lot of urban- related problems, especially when the Urban area has grown organically and it therefore proffers solutions to the government on how to create aesthetics, convenience and economy. An urban plan is usually prepared for a geographic space that is occupied by a population of at least 20,000 people. Urban and Regional Planners also prepare master plans for an area that could either be a local government or a community whose people have an homogeneous identity and characteristics.
It is hoped, however, that the Nigerian government and the citizens would allow Urban and Regional Planners to perform their duties without bias or prejudice in the allocation of land for different uses so that the country will develop socially, politically, culturally and economically.
Adelakun Adedolapo Oluwamayowa, a 300 student of Urban and Regional Planning in Osun State University, Osogbo.
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