Urban planning shapes cities and lives. It aims to create healthy environments, vibrant lives, and successful economies. One of the most important tools of urban planners is land-use planning; Through this tool, logical and legal guidelines are set to allocate land resources and functions in ways that comply with development plans.
The successful implementation of urban visions requires trust in planners and the procedures that govern land-uses. In addition, the success of urban plans depends on the level of support it gets from the general public. This support stems from the level of awareness and understanding of the public.
Urban planning is a professional and scientific task. All successful cities agree that planning is an authoritative task which is carried out by the state. Thus, we need to understand that the forces of the market are not sufficient to produce a successful urban environment. Similarly, political activities alone are unable to manage the urban milieu effectively.
Recently, two vents caught my attention and deserve to be reviewed. The first is the decision of Kuwait Municipality to change the land-use of Abo Holifa National Resort into residential land-use. The decision was taken under escalating pressures from the general public to provide more residential land to help relieve the pressure caused by the scarcity of residential units. The other, is the construction project which was about to execute a service building on part of the land allocated for Jamal Abdul Naser Park in Al Rawda neighbourhood. However, due to successful public campaigns, the project was frozen and the green space was saved. Such two cases are only examples of continuous efforts to change land-use and encroach on the allocated green spaces within the metropolitan area.
Green and open areas are among the most important spaces within cities and urban lands. Many world renowned cities are famous for their parks such as Hyde Park in London, Central Park in New York, the Bukit Timah Nature Preserve in Singapore, Phoenix Park in Dublin and others. Kuwait was renowned for its pioneering of master plans in the region which provided balanced uses and allocated sufficient green spaces. Planners of residential neighbourhoods ensured the provision of various types of parks and open spaces. The Public Authority of Agriculture and Fishery are concerned about the design and maintenance of public parks. However, lately the reduced attention to parks despite the increased demand for outdoor open spaces is noticeable.
In that regard, we must stress for the importance of parks and open spaces. And highlight some of their benefits:
- – Parks and green spaces provide various health benefits to citizens as they help purify air, lower stress, encourage walking, and the practice of sports activities.
- – Parks enhance the feel of spaciousness. In consequence, this encourages the construction of smaller residential units, which becomes accepted by the public once they have nice views and are adjacent to green parks and playgrounds.
- – In addition, parks have tremendous environmental benefits as they counter global warming, improve air quality and lower temperatures.
Finally, I hope that we see greater care of green space and wider awareness of their role to enhance the urban environment and improve the quality of life.