Urban planning re-imagines urban areas and translates this into infrastructure investment priorities, land and space use regulation, and mitigation and conservation measures. Urban design focuses on the design and functionality of areas, buildings and the spaces between them. Both planning and design have important implications for workers in informal employment.
Urban Planning & Design
What is Urban Planning & Design?Urban planning and design are technical and political processes focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment.
How Does Urban Planning & Design Affect Informal Workers?Planning and design norms and techniques are often informed by narrow conceptions of ‘ideal’, ‘modern’, ‘world-class’ cities and are frequently used to justify the exclusion of the informal economy.
Across the Global South, working and living informally predominate, with both public space and homes doubling up as workplaces. Despite this, planning and design norms aim for ‘orderly’ development of urban areas, single-function land zoning schemes, minimum standards for plot sizes and building materials, and car-dominated traffic movement. What is needed is a radical rethink of dominant approaches to planning and design, centring people and livelihoods.
Choral Mauladia, a member of the Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA), sells vegetables in a local market. She joined SEWA to help protect her rights as a street vendor against challenges like harassment and displacement.
Resources Related to Urban Planning & Design
Discover Our Themes
The following themes represent areas of strategic focus for WIEGO.