Reconstruction and redevelopment

Prof Ashley L S Perera

The Institute of Town Planners Sri Lanka has chosen ‘Public-Private Participation in the Development of the North and East’ as the theme of its annual sessions scheduled for March 21.

This indeed is most opportune in the context of time and in view of the high priority given by the Government for the rehabilitation, reconstruction and redevelopment of the North and East.

This article will attempt to discuss some planning aspects of post-conflict reconstruction and redevelopment from a socio-economic physical and environmental perspective.

It has to be emphasized that war in any form is utterly painful causing immense distress to all parties involved and even to those who have nothing to do with it.

Curiously though the physical destruction caused to house and property, public buildings, communication and other infrastructure, en masse could be a blessing in disguise from a planning perspective.

This is because although a costly process, yet such carpet destruction would in its stride remove all conceivable impediments to the rationalization of land uses thus ensuring an orderly development of human settlements in terms of a well thought out structure plan with an appropriate degree of comprehensiveness.

Firm association

In the minds of most planners planning is firmly associated with a rational and comprehensive approach although in most instances it is only a distant ideal.

This is because planners are invariably called upon to plan in a situation where ad hoc development has already taken place and firmly rooted enabling only incremental improvements.

This incremental approach referred to in planning parlance as disjointed incrementalism though often resorted to is considered a regrettable deviation by planners rather than a deliberate strategy.

Tremendous opportunities

Development planning in a war ravaged environment therefore provides tremendous opportunities even if there could be inevitable challenges as well.

In this context reconstruction and redevelopment of the North and East provide an excellent opportunity to town planners to come up with a strategy for the overall development of conducive and sustainable human settlements for the affected people.

There are some basic guiding principles that need to be taken note of in the planning approach and the planning process in a region which has been under conflict for nearly three decades. There has to be an overall re-orientation of the activities in keeping with the objectives of rehabilitation, reconstruction and development.

One of the primary tasks is to develop a rational and practical structure plan which depicts a holistic image of the planning region and society at large.

Planning of settlements within the region has to be determined on the basis on an atomistic image of the respective societies within the different settlements with appropriate methodologies to empower the people.

Strategies to conserve resources, minimize toxics and diversify the regional economy should be spelled out. Guidelines for the provision of health care, strategies to maximize long term benefits and mechanisms for monitoring and feedback have to be incorporated in the plan.

There has to be a planning methodology and process in place to encourage participatory community planning and promote participatory democratic governance.

To some degree the reconstruction process may exhibit predictable characteristics. For instance there can be a desire among the community and a tendency among the developers to locate the war ravaged towns and industries in the same sites these were originally located despite the availability of more appropriate sites.

Likewise the community may prefer their ancestral homes scattered countrywide although there could be distinct advantages in concentrated settlements where utilities, services and facilities could be easily provided.

Ultimate objective

Planners can use their training in tactfully resolving these issues to the satisfaction of the stakeholders. Their ultimate objective should be to rebuild the affected communities both physically and emotionally.

A major obstacle that needs to be overcome in the development planning process of the region is the lack of an appropriate data base for the North and East. This is because there has not been a general census for the North and East after 1981.

In the subsequent censuses and demographic surveys conducted by the Department of Census and Statistics the Northern and Eastern Provinces have been excluded due to the conflict situation.

Consequently there is a data and information gap spanning nearly three decades. It is therefore inevitable that the planners will have to create their own data base. One of the initial tasks therefore for the planning team would be to develop an information and data base.

As stated above secondary sources of data would be very limited. Nevertheless it will be useful to conduct a literature survey to gather whatever information available on the demographic characteristics of the planning region and at least the projected or provisional figures of economic and social statistics.

It will be also possible to obtain some information and data from the Government and private institutions, banks and other agencies operating in the area. The Government Agents and the Divisional Secretary Divisions could also be tapped for information and data. One problem to be encountered in this respect is that many of these agencies do not maintain records in a manner that will enable quick retrieval.

Due to these reasons the collecting of primary data becomes crucial in the planning process. Methods and techniques for the collection of primary data constitute part of the training received by town planners. They are therefore equipped for the task.

Primary data can be collected through surveys by any one or more of the following –

(a) by observation,
(b) through personal interviews,
(c) through telephone interviews,
(d) by mailing or administering questionnaires and
(e) through schedules.

Planners can use their discretion in selecting appropriate methods suited for their investigations. However care should be exercised to collect only relevant information as these methods are costly and time consuming.

Development Policy

The National Physical Planning Department (NPPD) has already developed a National Physical Development Policy and a Conceptual Plan. It has identified four metro regions and 11 metro cities which include Jaffna Trincomalee, Batticaloa, and Amparai.

It will be useful to the planning team to examine the socio-economic, physical and environmental strategies developed by the NPPD in the National Physical Development plan for the North and East along with some of the background papers cited in the report as a prelude to the planning of the region.

The writer is the former Head of the Department of Town and Country Planning, University of Moratuwa, Director of Post Graduate Studies and the Senior Professor of Town and Country Planning.