A review of the necessity of a multi-layer land-use planning

Abstract

Since its inception, land-use planning (LUP) has faced many challenges; most of these challenges have been due to the incompatibility of LUP with multi-layer situations. Lack of adaptability in planning has led to increased social conflicts and many environmental issues, especially in global southern countries. Paying attention to the context in which LUP takes place is necessary to adapt to the nonlinear land-use changes. LUP theories have formed two general processes including top-down (comprehensive planning) and bottom-up (collaborative planning) processes to influence land use. However, the processes that shape the transformations of land uses are more sophisticated than being placed in this or that theory. Land-use transformations are rooted in contextual conditions that are shaped by the mutual interactions of social structures and power relations at different spatial levels which are different for each society. This research explores the challenges of the incompatibility of LUP general processes with contextual conditions. The study reviews the compliance of contextual conditions with the LUP main elements, including cognition, decision-making process, goal setting, and policy selection. The results showed that LUP to comply with the multi-layer nature of various situations needs a continuous connection of its elements. Efficient knowledge of changing forces enables planning adaptability and flexibility. This knowledge provides the opportunity to redefine the decision-making process. This research can be the triggering point for LUP to comply with different conditions.