Urban Planning

[Northie]

Im currently in the urban and regional planning Program, about a year away from hopefully graduating. I initially had my sights on something very different from Urban Planning, but because of the advances our country has been experiencing and this new hope of peace in our beautiful land, i decided to do what always interested me. As soon as i graduate, infact as soon as my cerimonial graduate cap falls back down, ill already be on the first flight back home. Inshallah i plan on living in Somalia for a year give or take, conduct some projects i have in mind (ill share them with you guys when its all on paper), build enough experience and knowledge to fatten up my resume then go back to the states to finish graduate school.

My urban vision for Somalia:

Develope urban plans for mid-size towns, and urban cities. To do this we have to differeniate between towns and cities. below i breakdown what i consider examples of towns, mid-size cities, and cities.

Towns: Boorame, Berbera, Ceerigaabo, Lasanod, Lasqoray, Buuhoodle, Burco, Garowe, Galkacyo, Caabuudwaq, Goldogob, Barawe, Marka, Baidabo, Beledweyn, and arguably Kismayo at this point.

Somalis use the word City Loosly and to the locals of the aforementioned towns these places are Megacities lol. Somalia has 2 major population centers: Mogadishu and hargeisa, the latter being a lot less developed and with less urban infrastructure. If we apply a city tier sytem, Mogadishu would be distinguished as a Tier 1 city, Hargeisa a Tier 2 city while a city like Bosaso an up and coming giant in Somalia as a Tier 3 city.

once we've distinguished the difference between towns and cities, we can then apply an Urban Plan. An urban plan that promotes economic growth, safety, smart Urban growth, parks, public transportation access, sanitation, Architecture etc. All these factors make a city. and the best System ive found was the SmartCode system.
SmartCode is a unified land development ordinance template for planning and urban design. Originally developed by Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company, this open source program is a model form-based unified land development ordinance designed to create walkable neighborhoods across the full spectrum of human settlement, from the most rural to the most urban, incorporating a transect of character and intensity within each. It folds zoning, subdivision regulations, urban design, and basic architectural standards into one compact document. Because the SmartCode enables community vision by coding specific outcomes that are desired in particular places, it is meant to be locally calibrated by professional planners, architects, and attorneys.

Theres a new urban movement stressing the principles of sustainable urban planning. gone are the days cities would cater to Cars. whole cities have been built around cars, this suburban bliss has gone full circle, when you see young white hipsters moving back to the cities termed "gentrification". ANYYYWAYS my point is Smart, sustainable urban planning is desperately needed in our towns and cities. who else in here is an architect, engineer, or urban planner?

[Xusein]

Cool thread. Somali cities sorely need some kind of planning, all of them. Many of the biggest ones (Hargesia, Bosasso especially) are becoming development nightmares with no sense of cohesion or design whatsoever. I remember reading about a urban planning division being created or devised in Xamar, but nothing anywhere else. I won't worry about cars taking over, right now there is no space in the cities for them.

[Northie]

Xusein its a nightmare, not reserved to these 2 but to Africa in general. Africans inherited beautifully planned towns from the Europeans, 50 years later look at these places. theyre urban nightmares, unorganised, sanitary cesspools for the most part.

Town Centers like these below would be ideal for the towns i mentioned above. Currently most of these towns are 1 road towns, usually along the Barre era highway system. whole towns built directly on the highway route. INTERSECTIONS are the key to taking these towns to the next level. Most American cities developed around a Broad or Main st interesection eventually Expanding out.

Smartcode Zones:


image hosted on flickr


if these towns focus on building town centers, where all commercial activity, entertainment and education is centered im confident they can grow into tier 1 cities in just a matter of years.

[Northie]

Brothers and sisters to get from where we're at now and where we want to be in the future will take foresight, planning, and community cooperation. Sustainable growth is all in the planning, the zoning. zoning codes can make or break a neighborhood. placement of trees, length of a sidewalk, parking all play a significant part in urban life.

Bakaara Market today:



in the future:

[Xusein]

The issue is that it needs to be done from the ground up. There needs to be basic infrastructure first. Stuff like water pipes, filtration plants, reliable power, and sanitary services. On all of these factors, it's a steaming pile of fail. I would not call for an absolute tear down but massive works projects are needed.

What I have never understood is why nobody in private industry never found an opportunity in picking up the slack as government fails on this. Somalis excel at phones even but their lines are crowded and inefficient.

I will say this; Somalia is an urban designer's dream. They have massive opportunity to make a difference versus the West where it's all finished already. If I was a civil engineer or urban planner, I would seriously try to make connects to get into fixing it. Lots of potential and money to be made.

[talya]

Great thread Northie you are badly needed brother,i agree with you on Xamar as the less difficult comparing to the rest as Xamar has(had) well planed downtown made by the Italians.

[SUNS 25]

Interesting thread!

[eid]

Yes we really need urban planning in Somali minus Mogadishu. Garowe has urban planning to an extent but UN-Habitat does a lot of urban planning in Puntland minus Galkacyo and Somaliland. They buy land and put up buildings as many of our cities and towns get bigger we should plan the really well.
I'm studying civil engineering inshallah.

[Xusein]

Yes, the UN has an urban planning project in Hargeisa as well.

Here is the Google quick view of the PDF file. But is it really effective? I don't think it really is, at least at a significant level.

[eid]

Originally Posted by Xusein

Yes, the UN has an urban planning project in Hargeisa as well.

Here is the Google quick view of the PDF file. But is it really effective? I don't think it really is, at least at a significant level.

Yes I know that's I included Somaliland. I was taking Galkacyo out.

[Northie]

Talya thanks bro and Eid engineering is definitely something that will be of utmost importance, in designing structures
That will be of international construction standard.
Sorry guys If I wasn't soo busy with finals this week I'd be contributing more, but inshallah when I get a chance I'll upload some interesting stuff.

[Eyl-ien]

Originally Posted by Northie

.

Hey Northie,
Could you expand more on thr difference between a town and a city, as in what factors do we measure to dictate what exactly is a town or a city. Also the same would be dope for the Tier system you mentioned.

[Xusein]

Right now there is no real difference. Although there should be distinctions between towns, villages, and cities.

[Sideway]

Urban planning is a big issue in the Somali Peninsula. A lot of towns will have to be completely reorganised as most of them lack proper roads (they're really big pathways in most cases).

On a side note, I saw a birds eye view of Garbaharrey on Radio Muqdisho the other day and I was impressed by how neatly laid out it was.

[Waaberi]

Urban planning is serious need in somalia, there is not standard everyone build whatever he want where he wants. you have to understand except in Xamar there was never any urban planning in the past. we don't separate residential, commercial and industrial and everything is a big messy mix.

[Northie]

whooaa finally done my finals sorry for not replying sooner guys. OK so to answer Eyl-ien in regards to this Tier system ill point to what China is doing. China follows this Tier system in categorizing its cities. i can draw relative comparisons to China and Somalia even though the latter is at a much smaller scale.

During China's economic reform under the leadership of Deng Xiaoping, it was Tier 1 cities to first open up to competitive economic development. These cities were recognized for being densely populated, culturally and economically influential.

Shanghai, Guangzhou and Beijing are considered Tier 1 for obvious reasons. now if we were to apply this system to a Somali context, we can see the similarities between our 3 major economic, cultural and population centers. Mogadishu, Hargaisa and Bosaso, are the centers of their respective realms, Hargeisa being Somaliland, Bosaso Puntland, and Mogadishu the capital of the country.

The Somali civil war was/is a tragic and unfortunate chapter in human history, countless lives lost, and a whole society once seen as very moderate have reverted back to this primeval way of life. the silver lining in this orgy of destruction is the fact more and more villages becoming towns, towns becoming cities. before the civil war Somalia only had Mogadishu, and because of the bad taste people still have about losing everything in xamar people are less likely to invest their money back in the city.

Tier 2 cities: are cities that have recently arisen through investments from the diaspora communities belonging to the region, i mention some in my earlier post. These towns are less likely to attract investments from international companies looking to invest in Somalia. these town are also less likely to attract other somalis from other regions of the country.

the Solution to developing Tier 2 town/cities to become more viable and competitive centers for business and investments are listed below.

-Develop an urban master plan for the town. a plan that'll factor in its potential growth, with sustainable zoning, city codes and TOD (transportation oriented developments)
-these towns should be attractive for diaspora Somalis. which leads to the next point
-these towns should operate as qabil free zones, something like a Free Trade Zone, where the absence of taxes has attracted massive investments from big companies. **** I know that sounded really naive, its just an idea.


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[Northie]

this video is about GIS (geographic information system) of Portland Oregon, one of the best planned cities in the country. They've implemented this GIS system in a municipal capacity.

I think its important to develop this kind of infrastructure in Somali cities, this will enable and empower citizens to help the city stay safe. Somalis are becoming more and more technologically advanced with the cellphone penetration in the country this is very possible.

http://youtu.be/otpDq8CAano

[Constantine MMX]

Very interesting stuff Northie, this is badly needed. I think it's very much achievable with some efficient investment and networking.

Please check your PM.

[Northie]

hey guys sorry for not updating this thread like i initially planned on doing. I've come across some interesting information recently in a class about Early european colonialism in the americas, specifically pertaining to England's ability to make permanent settlements economically sustainable. you see prior to England's standardized system other european powers mainly the Spanish and french and to an extent the dutch, were really there just to be there. The their settlements were not economically viable which saw many of their establishments disappear or abandoned. The Brits on the other hand established a Roman Style Urban System explained below.


Colonial Britain's Urban System

gateway cities- “Break-of-Bulk” cities that serve as links between the colony and the mother country. Products or resources entering or leaving the colony pass through the gateway city.
inland gateways- Secondary cities that served as collections and transfer points for resources and products from and to the gateway cities.
Hinterlands- A market or trade area surrounding an urban area, from which goods, services or resources are gathered or distributed. In colonial America, both gateway cities and inland gateways had defined hinterlands.


Basically colonial Americas whole existence revolved around sending raw materials to the Mother country (ENGLAND) where it would than be converted into finished products and eventually sent back as a final product.
Colonial America had 5 major gateway cities during this period: Boston, NYC, Philly, James Town VirginaiCharleston S.C. followed by inland cities like: Baltimor MD, Trenton NJ, Albany NY, richmond virginia etc. this inland cities served as sources of raw material almost in all cases located inland on a river, used as a means of transporting goods. These inland towns would be the interface between the Native indians whom they would also trade with (between periods of genocide and land grabbing) and the colonies.



why do i bring this up? well the similarities with Somalia on a micro level are clear. Obviously right now we're not this economic super power, nor have we ever been but its clear if shift our focus and re-align ourselves we can be a major regional power.

the image below will illustrate this if we follow England's colonial system of gateway cities (Mogadishu, Kismayo, Berbera, Zaila, Bosaso) that will mainly be shipping and transport ion nodes. these cities should be the entrance point for all goods and people entering east and central africa. these gateway cities should focus on building modern High capacity container terminals.

Inland cities like: Lasanod, Boorame, Gaalkacyo, Garbaahare, Beledweyne, Dusomereb, Buhoodle etc located closer to ethiopia should focus more inland into africa. Africa is sooo rich in resources man everybody wants a piece of her. We too need to focus on trade with interior africa. i came up with this ugly map below that illustrates Gateways cities with Orange circles, Inland cities with red squares, and directions of goods Inland to the ports, from the ports inwards and from the ports out into the developed world.

[Northie]