In an effort to raise awareness of the importance of planning in their communities, settlement development practitioners on Wednesday, November 8, 2017 are engaging in numerous activities on the occasion of the World Town Planning Day.
Also known as World Urbanism Day, the World Town Planning Day is characterised by planning associations and academic institutions organising special educational sessions on topics relevant to planning in a local and global context.
The theme of this year’s event is: “Implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the New Urban Agenda (NUA).”
According to David Olawale, Public Relations Secretary of the Lagos State Chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP), Lagos NITP will join the rest of the world in celebrating the event.
He disclosed that, on Wednesday, November 8, State Chapter Chairman, Kunle Salami, would address a press conference at the Lagos NITP Secretariat at Alausa, and that, on Saturday, November 11, members of the State Chapter and students of urban and regional planning in Lagos State within the Ikeja area would embark on a City Walk.
“The purpose of the City Walk is to meet with the public to publicise and project the town planning profession through the distribution of colourful fliers on services of a registered and qualified town planner,” Olawale said.
In Osun State, Abiodun Olajide of Osun NITP stated that, on Wednesday, all NITP members and other stakeholders would converge on the Old Garage / Freedom Park in Osogbo for a City Walk that will traverse Olaiya, Abeere, Governors’ Office and the NITP Secretariat.
On the same day, the Commissioner for Lands and Physical Planning in the company of members of Osun NITP will be on a live TV show at OSBC, Oke-Baale, Osogbo.
As part of the World Town Planning Day 2017, the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) in the United Kingdom has launched a competition for school children, while the American Planning Association (APA) in the US will feature online multimedia resources focusing on this year’s theme.
This curated set of programmes will explore the varying roles and approaches of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), the American Planning Association, the International Society of City and Regional Planners (ISOCARP), and the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS).
The lectures and discussions will address the application of the SDGs and NUA across different geographic levels, sectors, and contexts, including planning for livable communities for all ages, environmental planning at the regional and territorial level, and cultural heritage planning for resilience.
The World Town Planning Day was initiated in 1949 by the late Professor Carlos Maria della Paolera of the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina to advance public and professional interest in planning, both locally and abroad. The event is celebrated in 30 countries on four continents each November 8.
It is considered a special day to give special recognition to the ideals of community planning which bring professional planners and the general public together. The World Town Planning Day, it was gathered, presents an opportunity to look at planning from a global perspective.
