Regional planning's role in disaster management in squatter settlements

Role of Regional Planning in Disaster Management in Squatter Areas

The role of Regional planning in disasters management in squatter areas

Abridged Literature Review

The significance of Regional planning in disasters management in areas occupied by squatters

The research paper that will follow shall look at the contemporary concern of the role of regional planning in managing disasters in squatter areas. This study will seek to investigate how regional planning can be used effectively to provide disaster management support in areas where squatters reside.

Many researchers have conducted research in this subject area with an aim of finding out ways of managing both the natural and human disasters in informal settlements. This is because of the vulnerability of these areas to disasters as they are located in areas that are not appropriate for human habitat. Different approaches have been recommended for this purpose. People living in informal settlements play a vital role as their social, economic, political and environmental contributions cannot be ignored. Their well-being is important calling for action from stakeholders to safeguard their interests. The paper that follows will look at the role of regional planning in disaster management in settlements inhabited by squatters.

Abridged Literature review

In a bid to present insight into the role of regional planning in managing disasters in areas where squatters live, this literature review will look at a number of subject matters. These areas include: (1) Squatter settlements and their role in developing countries (2) Disasters in squatter areas (3) Principles of regional planning (4) Principles of regional planning (5) Re-planning squatter areas using remote sensing. These areas of discussion will form the basis on which the investigation will be carried out as they give an overview of what other authors have done before in relation to the topic of study.

Squatter settlements and their role in developing countries

Squatter settlements are common across the globe, and it is even more serious in developing countries. According to Neuwirth (2007), the world population residing in these regions is approximately one billion people who face numerous challenges. Squatter settlements in developing countries, according to Sengupta and Sharma (2006), are a direct result of rapid urbanization in the states, which instigate large-scale rural-to-urban migration. In most cases, squatters have been ignored, and most people view them as social misfits who are a nuisance to the society. However, as Neuwirth (2007) says, it is time the society at large shunned myths that squatter communities are emblems of human desolation and that they are the enemy of the general society. Instead, they should realize that they contribute to the achievements of any community and, therefore, they should be protected from disasters, which are likely to affect their lives negatively.

People residing in squatter areas play crucial roles in developing countries as they affect urbanization in these nations. These roles can be positive or negative, but it depends on their age and their location in relation to town jobs as well as services. Negative results include human disasters such as fires and environmental degradation, which can be harmful to the well being of the residents (Abubakar, 2012). On the other hand, people living in these areas can be productive and contribute positively to the dwellers of the affected cities and the countries at large. It is for this reason that stakeholders involved in regional planning should consider this before planning for any evictions or relocations if the benefits are greater than risks.

Disasters in squatter areas

Rapid urbanization in developing nations across the world has seen significant migration of people from rural areas to urban quarters. According to Sengupta and Sharma (2006), these migrants are forced to reside in crude, and temporary houses, which are put up in areas that are exceedingly risk-prone such as areas vulnerable to floods, places which are steeply, and areas close to dangerous or toxic industrialized and transport infrastructural locations. This is due to the shortage of urban land in most third world countries forcing immigrants to opt for the disaster-prone and ignored locations within, and without the urban areas in order for them to meet their housing needs.

Squatter regions are not designated for human habitat for the simple reason that these regions are prone to both natural and human hazards. The natural hazards that these areas face relate to areas that are not fit for human habitat, garbage damping areas, and floods. On the other hand, human disasters in the squatter areas are related to issues, which are interconnected with areas designated for transport infrastructure, industrial areas, and lack of fire fighting systems in the regions. These factors put the squatter areas at a greater risk of disasters than those areas designated for formal settlements. It is the responsibility of all the stakeholders to play their role in managing these disasters.

Principles of regional planning

Regional planning is a crucial aspect of any government and it is so more important in addressing issues that relate to urbanization. Regional planning involves the proper placement of an area into effective use to allow proper utilization of land for sustainable growth. Regional planning is charged with the responsibility of coming up with solutions for problems or challenges that come up because of settlement and development. The solutions that the regional planning process provides should be relevant and in accordance to the needs of the region in question. In addressing settlement issues, regional planning should take into the disasters that are likely to affect these areas. For instance, they should disallow settlement in areas that are prone to droughts, marking and protecting transportation hubs, and designating regions, which are not fit for human settlements as waste disposal areas. According to Novakowski and Seasons (2011), enhanced regional planning can be useful in helping communities that reside in squatter regions to address their issues relating to their capacity to manage disasters. The identified principles are imperative for proper planning in order to avert disasters in the disaster prone areas including squatter regions.

Problem Statement

Human settlement is a crucial aspect of any nation, and the well-being of a country's citizens is greatly determined, by the way, people reside and the pattern of settlement in that country. However, the issue of informal settlement, which includes squatter areas, cannot be overlooked, as it is a common problem especially in developing countries. These forms of settlement are more prone to both the natural and human disasters, which deny the people living in those areas their rights as human beings. Poor regional planning is to blame for this, and it is for this reason that the study seeks to find out how regional planning can be used to curb these problems and why it has been difficult to do so.

Purpose Statement

The purpose for carrying out this study is to get an understanding of the role of regional planning in disaster management through re-planning of disaster prone squatter regions. The research paper will center on identifying the way in which modern technologies can be applied to come up with solutions that are lasting and helpful. The case study will be conducted in three urban areas in Saudi Arabia in areas where there are squatter regions. The sample will comprise 50 residents in squatter regions, 10 city dwellers who are not necessarily residents of squatter areas, 3 staffs at the regional planning headquarters, 3 local government officials, and 6 administrators at the regional planning offices in the towns under investigation. Independent response of the research population sample is fundamental in understanding the role that regional planning should play in the management of disasters and its usefulness in addressing disasters that are as a result of squatter settlement in Saudi Arabia

Research Questions

The questions that follow will guide this study. By the researcher answering these two questions, the study will have addressed the dilemma cited in the problem statement and at the same time achieved the purpose of the study:

1). How can regional planning be applied through re-planning of squatter regions by remote sensing in disaster management in Saudi Arabia?

2). How is regional planning useful to Saudi Arabia in managing natural and human disasters in squatter areas?

3). what challenges face the regional planning process in its bid to manage both the natural and human disasters that affect squatter areas?

For this study, the researcher will use the analysis of relationships techniques to find out the relationship between the role of regional planning and the challenges that they face in disaster management in squatter areas. The measure of strength of the relationship between the two variables will be calculated by finding the Pearson product moment, r, which should be between -1 and +1 (Wang and Vom Hofe, 2007). The correlation coefficient will be the relationship between the Pearson product moment and the linear relationship. The sign of the correlation coefficient has an implication on the direction of the relationship. A negative sign implies that with the increase in the number of one variable is associated with a decrease of the other variable. On the other hand, a zero value shows that there is no linear correlation between the two variables (Wang and Vom Hofe, 2007). A positive sign indicates that a change of one variable is associated with a similar change of the other variable. This statistical analysis method is the best to use to analyze data in the study.

Summary

Guided by the research questions, the research hopes to find out whether regional planning has a critical role to play in addressing the issue of both natural and human disasters in areas inhabited by squatters. The retort from interviews with the regional planning administrators will provide an excellent array of data that can be used for its qualitative and quantitative significance. A clear insight into the factors that hinder disaster management in squatter areas will, in addition offer a fine insight into the importance of applying technology in re-planning of areas that are prone to disasters in order to come up with valid and lasting solutions.