According to definitions.net “Urban planning is a technical and political process concerned with the control of the use of land and design of the urban environment, including transportation networks, to guide and ensure the orderly development of settlements and communities. It concerns itself with research and analysis, strategic thinking, architecture, urban design, public consultation, policy recommendations, implementation and management. A plan can take a variety of forms including strategic plans, comprehensive plans, neighborhood plans, regulatory and incentive strategies, or historic preservation plans. Planners are often also responsible for enforcing the chosen policies. The modern origins of urban planning lie in the movement for urban reform that arose as a reaction against the disorder of the industrial city in the mid-19th century. Urban planning can include urban renewal, by adapting urban planning methods to existing cities suffering from decline. In the late-20th century, the term sustainable development has come to represent an ideal outcome in the sum of all planning goals.”
Using urban planning as a method to curb insecurity is not exactly a new concept, Bisi Adedire, immediate, past chairman of the Lagos chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP) has called on the governments to reduce the number of slums in the country by incorporating all the elements of urban planning. Mr Adedire has been a victim of armed robbery and was quoted saying “armed robbery, maintained that security challenges are rife where population exceeds developments thereby leading to the creation of slums.” Furthermore, he added that through urban renewal, new town developments, resettlement housing schemes amongst others, the government can put a check on how slums sprout in the country. Urban planning is key because it considers the current state of the population, and puts into consideration growths/changes in population. With urban planning the likelihood of slums popping up are unlikely, “because everyone including the generation yet unborn will be catered for adequately.”
In addition, the former chairman suggested that through safety based designs national security can be achieved. These safety based designed are designs that allow for
natural surveillance by the residents as it increases the threat of apprehension because people will be conscious that they are being watched.
According to Abdulateef Bako, a university lecturer, the security challenges in Nigeria are due to unmonitored development and outright absence of physical planning of cities and towns. Furthermore, whilst speaking to Newsday he added more than 70% of Nigerian towns and cities are not well planned or have their master plans violated. Baka stated that most of our cities and towns have been witnessing tremendous growth without following any sustainable plan and as a result we are witnessing a rise in haphazard physical development and attendant security lapses. Cities or countries that do not enjoy proper and sustainable physical planning are not likely to grow well. Bako explained that if our cities and towns were well planned, it would be easy for security agencies to nip crimes and criminality in the bud. He said that the current situation of things in the country had made it difficult and hazardous for the police and other security agents to trace locations of crimes. In closing, Bako urged the government to summon the political will and take urban planning seriously, to ensure that future expansions conformed to the master plans of those places.
Recently, the governor of Plateau, Governor Lalong acknowledging the level of unplanned development in the state, as well as abuse of various plans by citizens, the governor promised to continue enforcing all town planning policies and regulations to ensure that public safety, orderliness and aesthetics are achieved for the common good. In addition, according to the NITP president, the absence of planning caused serious problems to the society, resulting in disruptions, congestion, diseases, insecurity and other challenges. The Governor of Lagos state also shared his thoughts on urban planning and how crucial it is to our society, he stated the absence of planning caused serious problems to the society, resulting in disruptions, congestion, diseases, insecurity and other challenges.
With the rising insecurity across states in Nigeria, it is essential that all measures that can be helpful to curb this insecurity are taken and treated with utmost priority and this involves empowering urban planners and subsequently monitoring them.
