Local Governance and the Comprehensive or the Master Plan

Abstract

This chapter deals with the comprehensive or master plan and the rationale for why a community needs to prepare a comprehensive plan. It also addresses issues related to the legal basis of the comprehensive plan and other important elements such as the functions, principles, and standards of the comprehensive plan. The traditional comprehensive plan has been focusing on the physical development of the city, specifically on issues related to land use, transportation, and the development of infrastructure. Modern comprehensive planning, by contrast, has become a major instrument in incorporating sustainability goals and pre-disaster mitigating policies. The scope of modern comprehensive planning has become all-encompassing by incorporating important elements related to climate change, the adoption of new technology, and a community’s resiliency to cope with crises. To be effective in meeting the goals and priorities of a community, the comprehensive plan should be supplemented with the adoption of different enforcement and non-enforcement mechanisms.