Permanent shelter
Practical Action
Land –use and neighbourhood planning
Land use and neighbourhood planning involves the following process.
Situational Assessment of the communities.
Utility Assessment of the land available.
Comparative Analysis to match the community’s needs and physical resources
available.
Formulation of the neighbourhood land-use map and District level master plan
Practical Action South Asia Facilitates Planning by:
Assisting the District Secretariats to conduct situational assessments,
Carrying out Land-use Analysis, with the involvement of all stakeholders,
Providing participatory tools for comparative analysis
Situational Assessment of the Communities
A consultative process needs to be adopted to identify and analyse the housing requirements and
to prioritise the needs to be addressed. One or several of the tools for participatory assessment
set out above can be used for this consultative process.
Results of this process will enable development practitioners to assess:
Previous lifestyles and post-tsunami aspirations of people.
Profiles, family patterns, social, religious and cultural norms (special attention needs to
be paid to single women/ women headed households/ single parents both male and
female/youth).
Land use patterns, domestic and home-based enterprise requirements, common,
commercial facilities and services.
Activities that take place ‘in’ built structures and those which take place ‘outside’ built
structures
Current location and realities of displaced people (the sort of environment needed to
enable the different activities of the people).
Utility Assessment of the land available
This analysis needs to draw on the knowledge and expertise of all service providers and
stakeholders such as the;
Local Authorities/Provincial Councils.
Urban Development Authority.
Road Development Authority.
Central Environmental Agency.
Coastal Conservation Department.
Service providers such as the CEB (electricity) and NWSDB (water).
The utility assessment would highlight the vulnerability of the land, posed through natural
(cyclones, floods, earthquakes etc) and man-made hazards such as internal conflicts, border
disputes; and its implications on the suitability of the land. The risks highlighted should guide
the planning and design of neighbourhoods, housing and infrastructure.
The following process may be adopted for undertaking the utility assessment of the land using
the tools for participatory assessment mentioned above.
Carry out a physical survey of the land to identify contour levels, vegetation and noteworthy
physical elements such as rock formations and water bodies.
Thoroughly assess the physical environment and the associated physical characteristics of the
site and its surroundings with attention to;
Geology
Water
Topography
Local climate
Thoroughly assess the natural environment of the locality giving attention to;
Soil
Wildlife
Vegetation
Air quality
Ecological value
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