Strategic Planning and Assessment of Spatial and Transportation Planning Instruments in Promoting Sustainability and Resilience

Research and analysis in developed and developing countries of the interface between strategic planning instruments, transportation, spatial and statutory planning instruments supporting integration in decision making demonstrate that the application of such instruments on all spatial scales is not optimized due to internalities, externalities and factors such as focus, content and output. The purpose of assessment of planning instruments is to promote urban system sustainability and resilience through alignment and integration of strategic and statutory planning instruments with specific reference to regional urban spatial; transportation planning and traffic generation in supporting decision making. A precondition for regional and urban sustainability and resilience pivots on multi-disciplinary practice applications to optimally align the development and application of planning instruments such as Integrated Development Plans (IDP’s), Spatial Development Plans (SDF’s), Integrated Transport Plans (ITP’s), Land Use Management Systems (LUMS’s), Housing Sector Plans (HSP’s), Environmental Management Plans (EMP’s) and related Precinct Plans (PP’s). Application of selective professional strategic, regional and urban planning results in ad hoc planning practices in decision making and project implementation. Strategic and regional planning practices on all scales are considered to be the root cause of not attaining spatial sustainability and resilience. Identification of macro spatial measures (norms) to assess spatial plans and consequent transportation impacts are developed and prosed in this paper. The results will be of value to articulating the content of sectoral plans and to promote sustainability and resilience in spatial system planning. The research deals with the theoretical and empirical realities underpinning the formulation and application of spatial planning instruments. The research illustrates the need to identify, assess and to relate macro spatial norms to promote spatial system sustainability and resilience. It will underpin plan assessment, alignment, integration, planning coordination and improved planning implementation integration. The research demonstrates that planning processes and resources are fundamental in integration and alignment in enhancing sustainability and resilience spatial system planning and development.