World Town Planning Day Commemorated

Minister Dinesh Gunawardena presents an award. Also in the picture are Dr Prathap Ramanujam, Prof. Trevor Budge and Mr Prasanna Silva

A special programme to commemorate World Town Planning day, presided over by Mr Dinesh Gunawardena, Minister of Urban Development and Sacred Area Development, was held in the Urban Development Authority auditorium at Sethsiripaya, Battaramulla on 9 November 2009.

This was the 60th World Town Planning Day, which was commemorated around various themes in different countries. In this country the principle theme was ‘Planning for the Community’.

This programme was organised jointly by the Urban Development Authority, the National Physical Planning Department and the Institute of Town Planners, Sri Lanka.

Speaking on this occasion, Minister Dinesh Gunawardena said that Sri Lanka has had a tradition of successful town planning from the days of King Pandukabhaya. Even today, Anuradhapura shocks international town planners by the excellence of its layout.

Today, participatory planning was necessary in order ensure that city plans should be effective in dealing with the needs of the population. There have been occasions in the past in which new urban plans have been made which were ineffective, and which failed to promote growth.

He paid tribute to the Institute of Town Planners, whose efforts were at the heart of the recovery from the Tsunami. Unfortunately, there has been a delay in implementing the Tsunami recovery plan for the North, due to the recent conflict. Now that the terrorists have been defeated, the internally displaced population could return to their homes once the mines were cleared up. The efforts of the town planners will thus be vital in the near future, as the planning for the development of the northern cities gets under way.

The keynote address was delivered by Prof. Trevor Budge of La Trobe University, Australia, who discussed the Australian experience of community consultation in town planning. He said that consulting the community was a relatively new idea not ingrained in tradition. It was introduced to Australia about 30 years ago, and is now accepted as something that is necessary.

He emphasised that the process should be transparent and the participants should be clear as to the aims – the ability to alter plans as a result of the consultation was vital. It was also essential that a system should be in place to manage the process, with the administrative machinery and resources to handle the large amounts of information that were generated through this course of action.

Dr Prathap Ramanujam, Secretary to the Ministry of Urban development and Sacred Area Development, Mr Prasanna Silva, Director General of the Urban Development Authority, Mr Lakshman Jayasekera, Director General of the National Physical Planning Department and Plnr L D Dickman, President of the Institute of Town Planners, Sri Lanka also addressed the gathering.