“The topic I have been asked to address today is “The Importance of Development Plans for Development Control.” It is therefore my task to put into context why development plans are important in the context of the development control function with which most of you are involved. Let me start by defining the discipline and profession of land-use planning.
Land use planning refers to the process by which land is allocated between competing and sometimes conflicting uses in order to secure the rational and orderly development of land in an environmentally sound manner to ensure the creation of sustainable human settlements.
The process of land use planning consists in the main of the two twin functions of Development/Land use Planning and Development Control. Of necessity, these two functions must be supported by relevant research and mapping which are also major components of the land use planning process.
Having defined the activity let me spend some time to put land-use planning in a wider context: why do we do it and how does the need for it arise. Land-use planning does not exist in isolation. It is necessary to view land-use planning as an integral part of the process of national growth and development. Among other things, this process seeks to identify, articulate and satisfy the basic social/human needs of a country’s population within the context of available economic/financial resources and technical knowledge.”
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Thomas, Deborah. USAID/OAS Post -Georges Disaster Mitigation 15 January 2001.