Land Dynamics

Fixed Location Factor

Land is fixed in location and immobile. This fixed location attribute influences various utilization of land. According to Barlowe, this has a bearing on human decisions or preferences concerning the value and use-capacity of various places; land-utilization practices; private ownership, land values, uses, and ownership conditions to the local environment; and legal description of properties (1958).

On human decisions or preferences

Rational thinking and choices dictate that some portions of the earth’s surface are more advantageous than the others. These preferred areas gain economic significance and value when used by an individual or group of individuals to meet certain needs and demands. For example, a businessman would put up a business in a metropolis where he might expect the largest flow of customers and trade and thus the biggest yield. In such respect, said area has a locational advantage. An economic location is thus established by combining human choice and physical location. As Barlowe has explained:

The concept of economic location assumes that some areas enjoy locational advantages over the others. This advantage often involves savings in transportation costs and time; and it stems partly from the fact that the law of diminishing returns makes it both physically impossible and economically impracticable for man to produce all his market goods at points adjacent to a central market. Location advantages also result from the higher productivity and lower production costs associated with particular sites (1958:32).

Moreover, since most sites can accommodate only one use at a time, the need to link the fixed geographic or spatial relationships that separate various areas arises. This can be resolved by providing transportation means. In this respect, the area that has locational advantage is the one where there are savings in transportation costs and time. For instance, an individual would reside in a place near the office where he goes to work or near the shopping center where he buys his basic necessities. Such decisions may be based on his savings in transportation costs and time, whichever activity he values most.

On land-utilization practices

Relative to the above, land location prescribes the use of land. Different uses of land can be observed at varying distance from the market. Time, effort, and convenience are relevant factors that are considered in determining the use of a particular tract of land. As to the said factors for instance, maximum savings can be realized if heavy and bulky products are manufactured near the market.

On ownership and community ties

Because of fixed location factor, standardization of properties is impossible with parcels of land. This is because tracts of land “differ in location and have different neighbors and different spatial relationships with respect to other properties and facilities” (Barlowe, 1958: 36).

On legal description of properties

The fixed location factor helps in describing the location of various land holdings, which in turn facilitates the legal description of land titles.


von Thunen’s Theory

A German landowner and economist, Johann Heinrich von Thunen developed a model which attempts to analyze the relationship between differences in spatial location and land utilization patterns. The von Thunen’s Model illustrates the effects of location relative to market, and transportation facilities and costs, on land utilization practices.

According to von Thunen, transportation costs include not only the transfer of produce to market, but also the time, effort, and inconvenience associated with moving workers and supplies to and from various production sites. With this, he argued that the first zone would be used for garden plots and other intensive uses which call for considerable care and travel on the part of the villagers. The second and third zones were devoted to uses involving heavy, bulky, and hard-to-transport commodities while those uses involving more easily transported products were located at even greater distances from the city.

Nowadays, some of the von Thunen’s assumptions do not hold true due to modern transportation facilities. But it is still advantageous to locate a production area near the market wherein transportation costs can be reduced at the minimum level or better yet, none at all.


Central Place Theory

About seventy years have now passed since Walter Christaller established the foundations of Central Place Theory in his book entitled Die zentralen Orte in Süddeutschland. The Central Place Theory has played an important role in the explanation of urban system. It attempts to explain the size, number, and spatial distribution of settlement in the belief that some ordering principles govern the distribution.

The Central Place Theory posits the following:
· that the basic function of a city is to be a central place which provides goods and services for a surrounding tributary area;
· that the centrality of a city is a summary measure of the degree to which it is such a service center;
· that higher order places offer more goods, have more establishments and business types, larger populations, tributary areas and tributary populations, do greater volumes of business, and are more widely spaced than lower order places;
· that low order places provide only low order goods to low order tributary areas;
· that central places fall into a hierarchy comprising discrete groups of centers; and
· that the hierarchy may be organized according to marketing, traffic, and separation principles (Berry and Pred, 1965: 3).

The central place is specialized in selling various goods and services. As such, the city, which serves as a central place, has a number of smaller towns at an equal distance away from it, and is located at the center of minimum aggregate travel of its tributary area.

The more central the place is, the higher is its “order”. High order centers (e.g., universities) provide highly specialized goods and services while low order ones (grocery stores) offer simple basic goods and services, which require frequent purchasing with little consumer travel.

High order centers perform all the functions of low order centers plus a group of central functions that differentiates them and sets them above the lower order. This implies that there are low order goods and services in high order centers but not high order goods and services in low order centers. A result is a “nesting” pattern of lower order trade areas within the trade area of higher order centers, plus a hierarchy of routes joining the centers.
Based on the Central Place Theory, the larger the settlements, the lesser their number; the bigger a settlement, the farther away a similar size settlement is; the larger the settlement, the higher the order of its services; and the range (or the maximum travel distance of a consumer) increases as the population increases.

The conurbation is the largest settlement, so has the largest amount of services and therefore there are less of them. The towns, on the other hand, have much less services and there are more of them.

The Central Place Theory assumes that all areas have an isotropic surface, an evenly distributed population and resources, and similar purchasing power of consumers. It points out that to prevent spheres of influence to overlap or have gaps, the best shape is a hexagon. The breaking point is where the consumer is equidistant from two/more similar services.


References:

Barlowe, Raleigh. Land Resource Economics: The Political Economy of Rural and Urban Resource Use. (New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1958).

Berry, Brian and Allen Pred. Central Place Studies. (USA: Regional Science Research Institute, 1965).

mama.instate.edu

www.revision.notes.co.uk

www.personal umich.edu

On Land Use Planning

Land Use Planning

Land use planning refers to the proper use and management of land resources, which aims to promote the interest and welfare of today’s generation and beyond. In this respect, the State regulates the use of land resources to ensure that land’s natural qualities as well as the general welfare of human beings and other life forms that depend on land, are not jeopardized, but instead, are enhanced (Serote, 1992). Land use planning is therefore a political act of crafting public policy with regard to the “acquisition, ownership, use and disposition of property” towards the promotion of the general welfare or public interest (1987 Philippine Constitution, Art. XIII, Sec. 1).

According to Serote, land use planning consists of technical, political and ideological dimensions (1992). The technical dimension deals with the approaches, methods and techniques applied to determine what a given parcel of land can support without damaging the land itself. Meanwhile, the political aspect relates to the development of policies, guidelines and criteria for proper management of land, including the commitment and capability to implement them. The ideological dimension gives emphasis on the underlying philosophy of land that is grounded on the value the society attaches to land, the notion of land as a property, and the role of the State in the overall regulation of land.

It has been observed that the convergence of the three dimensions results in effective land use planning. As Serote has put it, “land use planning must be seen as essentially a political act of translating social values into social goals and policies, and specifying the technical parameters and criteria for achieving those social goals (1992).


Land Use Planning Process

The interplay of the three dimensions is manifested in the land use planning process (whether comprehensive or sustainable) which involves the following steps:

1) Data collection and inventory;
2) Inter- and Intra-area analysis;
3) Goals/objectives setting;
4) Generation of alternative spatial strategies;
5) Evaluation and selection of preferred strategy;
6) Detailing of the chosen strategy;
7) Formulation of policies and implementation tools;
8) Plan adoption and legitimization; and
9) Implementation, monitoring and feedback.

Data collection and inventory. Relevant and accurate data are needed for a planning activity to be effective. Once the data have been gathered and organized, a planning database should be established. In land use planning, the database should include socioeconomic data which are vital inputs to the preparation of the usual Socioeconomic Profile. It would also be of great help in the preparation of an Ecological Profile if biophysical attributes of an area are stored and regularly updated in the planning database.

Inter- and Intra-area Analysis. This is done to comprehend the area both in its entirety and in terms of its component parts. This involves the preparation of a statistical compendium where several areas are compared in terms of their performance against a given indicator. The output of this is a summary of constraints and bottlenecks, possible conflicts arising from overlapping uses of, interests on, and claims over land resources, and the amount and location of lands available for future expansion.

Goals and objectives setting. This is a good venue where the collective aspirations of the people are translated into a vision and mission statements. The vision and mission statements are usually derived from the people through public consultations, from the pronouncement of elected officials, from relevant national policies, and from the result of the analysis of the area.

Generation of alternative spatial strategies. This is done by taking into account the presence of physical and policy constraints that put limits to where human settlements could be located, and the ease or difficulty of changing the existing locational pattern as shaped by the past.

Evaluation and selection of preferred strategy. This involves the application of various techniques such as cost-benefit analysis, planning balance sheet, goal achievement matrix, among others. The strategy which will likely generate the highest net benefit is chosen.

Detailing of the chosen strategy. This involves the preparation of a schematic diagram to accompany the selected strategy. The diagram is put into a firm spatial shape that will guide and control the location of infrastructure projects, the direction and intensity of urban development, and the location of special action areas.

Formulation of policies and implementation tools. This completes the preparation of plan document. Policies that are usually formulated deal with settlements, infrastructure, and land use to guide the future development of various sections of a locality. Implementing mechanisms such as sectoral planning and programming are identified in the plan.

Plan adoption and legitimization. This part of the planning process is when the local government gives it commitment to implement the plan. This is supported by public consultations and approval of the legislative body.

Implementation, monitoring, and feedback. This part is an essential link to the next cycle of planning. The outputs of this are to be used as bases for plan revision, amendment, or replanning.

It must be noted that public consultations need to be conducted in certain stages of the planning process.


Comprehensive Land Use Planning Process

The Comprehensive Land Use Plan is one of the most important planning documents of local government units in the Philippines. Under the Local Government Code of 1991, LGUs are mandated to prepare CLUPs for the most rational and effective use of land resources. The CLUP is the ultimate output of a CLUP Process.

The CLUP Process, which follows the land use planning process presented earlier, puts emphasis on the proactive participatory consultation and socioeconomic concerns. As such, during the process, particularly in the formulation of policies, the Barangay Development Plans, which provide opportunities for barangay communities to influence the nature, scale, and future quality of their living environment, are consolidated and integrated in the CLUP. Its purpose is to provide a comprehensive development framework that will guide a particular LGU towards the achievement of the community’s and stakeholders’ aspirations to an improved quality of life.


Sustainable Land Use Planning Process

Recently, concerns on land use planning tend to be not just towards development, community participation and empowerment but also towards sustainability. Thus, the term sustainable land use planning is adopted to refer to “the rational and judicious development, utilization and management of land resources in a sustainable manner, to ensure that the needs of the present generation are met without compromising the needs of future generation” (Guidebook on the Preparation of SLUP, 1997).

The SLUP Process is somehow similar to the CLUP Process, but with additional features. The following features, however, differentiate SLUP from CLUP Process:

Preparation of an Ecological Profile as the basis for land use plan preparation (Socioeconomic Profile in CLUP Process);
Integration of sustainable development principles and parameters in land use planning which include the following: economic viability, ecological viability, technological viability, political viability, cultural viability and institutional viability;
Adoption of other tools and methods in land use analysis;
Adoption of the ecosystem-based approach in planning the detailed land uses for agriculture, forest and coastal lands; and
Inclusion of environmental management and natural resources conservation on equal footing with socioeconomic concerns.

It must be noted that the SLUP Process deals with long term physical framework planning since the end goal is sustainable development.


Final Note

The people, in general, should take the lead in maintaining and improving land and natural resources primarily because it is these resources that sustain their lives. This calls for effective land use planning with the State and the people. Land use planning must not only be comprehensive but also be sustainable – one that can meet the needs of the present and future generation – and this can only be undertaken with the harmonious convergence of its technical, political, and ideological dimensions.


References

1997. Guidebook on the Preparation of Sustainable Land Use Plan. Vol. I. Sustainable Development Models and Systems Subprogramme (SDMS). Integrated Environmental Management for Sustainable Development (IEMSD) Programme.

1987. Philippine Constitution.

2001. Planning Strategically. Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board.

1992. Serote, Ernesto. “Review and Prospects for Land Use Planning in the Philippines under the 1991 Local Government Code” in A Study of Regional and Local Planning System Bk. II. LDAP Project No. 492-0436. USAID/Philippines.

On Land and Other Related Concepts

This paper presents the concepts of land, land use, and land use planning from different standpoints. It seeks to provide a clearer understanding of the said concepts by identifying the characteristics and many uses of land.


The Complexities of Land and Its Meaning

Different people define and describe “land” in various ways, depending on their perspectives, interests, or purposes. Commonly known and accepted definition of land is that it refers to the solid part of the earth where human beings can walk, build structures, grow trees, or raise animals. The term “land” is also used to denote “a nation, a people, or a political division of the earth’s surface” (Barlowe, 1958:7).

Apart from the above-stated definitions, there are more technical explanations concerning “land.” In his book Land Use, Kenneth Davis adopts a rather short yet comprehensive definition of land that captures the physical, legal, and economic concepts of land. Defined by The Random House Dictionary of the English Language, land is “any part of the earth’s surface, which can be owned as property, and everything annexed to it, whether by nature or by hand of man” (quoted in Davis, 1976: 11).

Associated with the physical concept of land are useful concepts, which include “space” and “nature.” Land as a space represents a room or a surface where life takes place. This pertains not only of the earth’s surface but also of the cubic space. In other words, it includes the space beneath the surface, the space that human beings and other life forms occupy, and the space above and around the surface. As a nature, on the other hand, it encompasses all the natural resources such as mountains, oceans, rivers, and plains (Barlowe, 1958). Clearly, water areas are also considered land or part of the broader concept of land.

Another important point that needs clarification is related to the concept of land as a property that can be owned. To some extent, the landowner can exercise control over its use. This concept can be traced back to the Judeo-Christian tradition in the Western world that established the thought that the earth and all upon it were for people. Hence, human beings had exercised supremacy over natural resources. In many occasions, however, such idea has resulted in conquest and exploitation of land and other natural resources (Davis, 1976).

From the economic standpoint, land may be viewed as the following: a factor of production, a consumption good, a capital, and a situation. As a factor of production, land is considered to be the main source of raw materials that humans use to produce goods and services. Accordingly, it is also looked at as a consumption good because people use land to satisfy most, if not all, of their needs to survive. As Barlowe puts it, “it has value as a consumer’s good in its own right” (1958: 8).

Although land, as a factor of production, is separate from capital, it is still regarded as capital to some extent. From the perspective of an average investor, for instance, land is to be purchased or leased just like capital goods (Barlowe, 1958).

The concept of land as a situation is also of crucial importance especially in modern economic affairs and world politics. It suggests location “with respect to markets, geographic features, other resources, and other countries” (Barlowe, 1958: 8).


The Characteristics of Land

An understanding of the characteristics of land is deemed relevant because these have impacts, not only on the natural and man-made resources, but more importantly, on the human beings and other life forms.

One characteristics of land is that it is immobile. It is fixed in place, thus can be identified accordingly. This, according to Davis, is the basis for establishing land ownership (1976).

Relative to the immobility of the land and to the concept of land as a situation, land is said to have “strategic value associated with a particular location” (Davis, 1976:11). This is because the control of a specific piece of land may determine and affect the use of other land areas.

Still another characteristic of land is that it is finite and not reproducible (Davis, 1976). Nevertheless, its surface character can be transformed to a certain extent such that the increasing needs and demands of the people may be accommodated and addressed. In this respect, it must be noted that such land transformation may not always result in desirable outcomes. Hence, proper control and utilization of land are of extreme importance to strike a balance between the capacities of land and the necessities of humans.

Physical and climatic characteristics of land likewise influence and limit its use. Regarding topography, land may be “flat, steep, irregular, rocky, etc.” (Davis, 1976: 12). With modern technological equipment, the topography of an area can be renewed. For instance, mountains can now be razed but there is no guarantee that the benefits of such will outweigh the costs, both in tangible and in intangible terms.


The Many Uses of Land

Land has been classified based on the uses it offers. Rural lands are commonly devoted for agricultural purposes. These include cropland, pasture and grazing land, forest land, and wildland. Cropland embraces all cultivated areas used in the production of food, fibers, feeds and other crops (Barlowe, 1958).

Pasture and grazing land includes two types of land use – arable pasture and range and grazing land. Arable pasture points to the improved and rotation pasture area that can be plowed and be easily altered into cropland use. On the other hand, range and grazing lands “applies to those lands which produce forage cover for grazing by domestic animals and game mammals, but which are generally unsuited for cultivation because of inadequate rainfall, rough topography, or high altitude” (Barlowe, 1958: 10-11).

Forest land covers the areas used for commercial timber production, noncommercial woodlands, farm woodlots, cutover lands with timber growth potential, and some brushland. Meanwhile, wildlands in rural areas have recreational value. Outdoor activities such as horseback riding, stream fishing, and camping are usually held in recreational lands such as racetracks, parks and the like.

Both urban and rural lands are used for residential, commercial, industrial, and institutional purposes but the former is more widely used than the latter in said aspects. There are also areas utilized for transportation purposes where roads, railways, harbors, wharves, and similar types are built. Some areas are used to extract minerals while others accommodate service uses such as “reservations, prisons, cemeteries, reservoirs, and hydroelectric power sites” (Barlowe, 1958: 11). The residual land areas that do not have apparent uses or that remain idle are identified as barren and waste land.


The Concept of Land Use

Another way of understanding land is by taking into consideration the reversibility of its use. Land use can be irreversible or reversible. According to Davis, in some cases, it is impracticable, if not impossible, to reverse to the former use of the land once changes to its original character or quality has been made (1976). These uses are described as irreversible. The following are good examples of irreversible use of land:

§ the transformation of a certain parcel of land into a city or industrial area;
§ the transformation of coastal and inland wetlands and water areas for agricultural purposes;
§ the transformation of reservoir area;
§ the extraction of mines from the land; and
§ the use of land for the major roads highways and railroads.

In other cases, however, there are uses of land wherein the soil cover and land form have not been converted. These uses are said to be reversible (1976). To illustrate, the following are good examples of reversible use of land:

§ the use of agricultural land as cropland or pasture;
§ the use of forest lands; and
§ the use of urban lands.

When dealing with land use, it is important to be aware of certain concepts that promotes the welfare of both the user or manager (human) and the one being used or managed (land). One notion is that of stewardship. From the Biblical origin, stewardship refers to the “responsibility for continuing and prudent management of something held in trust, as an agent for another, without impairment to what is being managed - and also, it is hope, with improvement and augmentation. It also suggest the idea of dominion over that which is managed and can include the concept of harmony of opinion and interests, which well describes the goal of good land use” (Davis, 1976: 8).

Another concept closely associated with land use is that of posterity. Davis explains that posterity or the idea of passing on an estate to the next generation is strongly supported in societies where land tenure and inheritance is stable. This is, however, quite less important in societies with more mobile, urban populations (1976).

The concepts of stewardship and posterity alone, nevertheless, do not guarantee proper and just land use. A more effective concept to address the changing needs and demands of the present and future generations is that of conservation. Central to the concerns of conservation is the maintenance and improvement of environmental quality that includes land and other natural resources that are crucial as bases of economic activities and as integral parts of life support system.

As previously mentioned, in varying degrees, human beings have a control over the use of land. However, with the underlying aim of putting things in order and of putting order in things, the use of land has been greatly regulated by the State to ensure that land promotes the general welfare of the public.

The State has been employing regulatory measures and incentive systems to influence the decisions of individual landowners towards the promotion of the common good in the use of land. Among the mechanisms and strategies used by the State to influence the decisions of the landowners include the following: the delineation of particular areas where certain activities may or may not be allowed; setting of criteria and standards for development activities; use of fiscal instrument such as taxation schemes to generate funds for improving and maintaining public services, infrastructures, and environmental quality; expropriation of privately owned lands for public use such as government infrastructure projects, which will benefit the society in general; and distribution of public and private lands to emancipate the peasants and to promote social justice and equity. (Guidebook on the Preparation of SLUP, 1997). These initiatives aim at using land in the most effective way where the public will truly benefit.


Land Use Planning

As earlier presented, the State plays a crucial role in governing and managing the use of land resources in such a way that it does not jeopardize the land’s natural qualities as well as the general welfare of the human beings and other life forms that depend on land. Hence, land use planning.

In the Philippine context, land use planning is founded on the social philosophy enunciated in the current Constitution that “the use of property bears a social function” and that private decisions on the use of their property are subject to the“…duty of the state…to intervene when the common good so demands” (quoted in Guidebook on the Preparation of SLUP, 1997).

Relative to the concept of conservation, at present, concerns on land use planning tend to be towards sustainability. Thus, the term sustainable land use planning is used to refer to “the rational and judicious development, utilization and management of land resources in a sustainable manner, to ensure that the needs of the present generation are met without compromising the needs of future generation” (Guidebook on the Preparation of SLUP, 1997).

Based on the above, land use planning consists of technical, political and ideological dimensions. The technical dimension deals with the approaches, methods and techniques applied to determine the proper location and allocation of different land using activities. Meanwhile, the political aspect relates to the development policies, guidelines and criteria for proper management of land, plus the willingness and the capability to implement them. The ideological dimension gives emphasis on the underlying philosophy of land that is grounded on the value the society attaches to land, the notion of land as a property, and the role of the State in the overall regulation of land (Serote, 1992).

It has been observed that the convergence of the three dimensions results in effective land use planning.

Final Note

Despite its finiteness in quantity, the concept of land and its uses seem to increase as people and people needs and demands escalate in different time and perspectives. In general, human beings should take the lead in maintaining and improving land and natural resources primarily because it is these resources sustain their lives. This calls for effective land use planning with the state and the people. Land use planning must be sustainable – one that can meet the needs of the present generation and beyond – and this can only be undertaken with the harmonious convergence of its technical, political, and ideological dimensions.

References

1997. Guidebook on the Preparation of Sustainable Land Use Plan. Vol. I. Sustainable Development Models and Systems Subprogramme (SDMS). Integrated Environmental Management for Sustainable Development (IEMSD) Programme.

1958. Barlowe, Raleigh. Land Resources Economics: The Political Economy of Rural and Urban Resource Use. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.

1976. Davis, Kenneth. Land Use. New York: McGraw Hill Book Co.

1992. Serote, Ernesto. “Review and Prospects for Land Use Planning in the Philippines under the 1991 Local Government Code” in A Study of Regional and Local Planning System Bk. II. LDAP Project No. 492-0436. USAID/Philippines.