SPATIAL PLANNING Key Instrument for Development and Effective Governance

the context of spatial development (such as travel behaviour), or the procedures of managing
development (ensuring that decisions are made efficiently and fairly). These indicators will assist in
benchmarking, a process that involves learning from others by sharing information and adopting best
practices to monitoring and improving the performance of the organization. Benchmarking has been
adopted widely by many countries and involves the selection and definition of benchmarks and
making comparisons of performance both across time and between organizations.
The national government’s role in monitoring of spatial development and planning consists of three
main activities:
• The examination of the outcomes from the system against targets and indicators based on national
priorities;
• The monitoring of national and international conditions that set the conditions for spatial
development;
• The monitoring of procedures to ensure efficient and fair decision-making.
It may be the case that all monitoring can be reported in one “national spatial development report”.
The monitoring of spatial development outcomes and conditions is likely to be concentrated at the
local level. National government has a role in setting national targets and indicators (which can be
supplemented with regional and local level indicators), and in collecting together information in order
to provide a national evidence base and regional comparisons. Examples of the use of monitoring
studies are for the assessment of the conversion of greenfield land to urban uses or for the relative
accessibility of urban services. This information should be an important input to national sectoral
planning processes.
5.12 Paying for spatial planning
When well established in government, spatial planning is an activity that can effectively pay for itself.
The value of responsible investment in infrastructure and development far outweighs the costs of the
planning system. Effective spatial planning integrates the decisions and activities of many actors that
are anticipated to add value to the development process. It will help to create value in land and
property and further protect that value and help to ensure good returns for investors. Coordination of
investment through a territory-based strategy can direct public investment so as to avoid wasteful
expenditure. Spatial planning should help to reduce environmental costs and other externalities such
as traffic congestion. In some countries, spatial planning is seen as an important contributor to the
health and well-being of citizens, thus reducing costs in other sectors. Above all, in the long term,
effective spatial planning will reduce the costs of uncoordinated, environmentally damaging and
fragmented development patterns, by adding value through the synergy of investment.
An effective spatial planning system can help provide necessary infrastructure through impact fees
and agreements made with developers. It may also help to provide additional community facilities and
other services through recouping part of the development value of land and property. More directly,
the costs of the administration of spatial planning can be offset by charging fees to those who seek
approval for development. Many countries already have such fee systems in place.
The information collected in the spatial planning process will be of value to the development industry.
Some information will be made freely available through plan-making and regulation process, but it is
commonplace for planning authorities to charge for the provision of special information. For example,
this might include more detailed assessments of the economic performance of land and property. In
some cases, planning authorities charge for the provision of their planning documents, though this is
28 Spatial Planning - Key Instrument for Development and Effective Governance