📐 Planners
Planners draw up the plans for how land should be used. They check each new project and decide if it fits the plan. They try to balance the needs of people, business and the environment.
Managing Urban Areas » Who Manages Cities?
What you'll learn this session
Study time: 30 minutes
Edexcel spec: 6.3 Different strategies can be used to manage social, economic and environmental challenges in a sustainable manner (c)
- The roles of planners, politicians, property developers and industrialists
- How each group helps to manage a city in London and Mumbai
- Why the groups often disagree with each other
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Unlock This CourseWho decides what happens in a city?
You have seen the strategies cities use: new housing, better transport, schools, clinics and jobs. None of these happen by themselves. Different groups of people make them happen, and each group wants something slightly different. This lesson looks at four of them in London (a developed country) and Mumbai (a developing or emerging country).
Key terms:
- Planner: a professional who works out where homes, roads, shops and open spaces should go, and decides whether new building projects are allowed.
- Politician: an elected person who sets the aims and the budget for a city and makes the final decisions.
- Property developer: a person or company that buys land and buildings, builds or improves them, and then sells or rents them to make a profit.
- Industrialist: an owner or leader of a business or factory that provides jobs and makes goods.
The four groups and their roles
🏛 Politicians
Politicians decide the budget and the big aims, such as cleaner air or more homes. They are elected, so they must listen to voters.
🏗 Property developers
Developers pay for and build homes, offices and shops. They bring investment and new buildings, but they need to make a profit.
🏭 Industrialists
Industrialists run factories and large firms. They create jobs and income for the city, and they want land, transport links and low costs.
London
Politicians and planners. London is run by the Mayor of London and the Greater London Authority, together with 32 borough councils. The Mayor produces the London Plan, which sets out where new homes, transport and jobs should go. The borough councils then decide whether to approve each building project in their own area.
Planners at work. One main aim of London's planners is to protect the green belt, a ring of protected countryside around the city, so the city does not keep spreading outwards. This links to the greenfield and brownfield debate you met in The Rural-Urban Fringe.
Developers and industrialists. Property developers built the East Village on the old Olympic Park site and the King's Cross redevelopment. Employers in places such as Canary Wharf bring jobs and money to the city.
Mumbai
Politicians and planners. The city is managed by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), a council led by elected councillors and officials. The state government of Maharashtra also has a big say, for example in major transport and housing projects. Bodies such as the Slum Rehabilitation Authority plan how to improve housing in squatter settlements.
Developers. In Mumbai, land is very expensive and space is short, so private developers are important for building new housing and offices. Plans to redevelop Dharavi involve a private developer building new homes and businesses.
Industrialists. Businesses and industries in Mumbai provide jobs, and Dharavi itself has many small workshops that make leather goods, pottery and recycled products. They need space and cheap rents to survive.
Why do the groups disagree?
Each group has different priorities, so their views often conflict. The groups care about different challenges: social (people), economic (money and jobs) and environmental (the land and air).
✅ Agree on
Most groups want a city that works, with enough homes, jobs and transport. They often work together, for example a developer builds homes that a planner has approved and a politician has funded.
❌ Disagree on
Developers want to build as much as they can. Planners want to protect green space and keep building safe. Politicians want to win votes. Industrialists want low costs. Local people want to keep their homes and jobs.
Examples of conflict
- London: A developer may want to build on part of the green belt where land is cheaper. Planners and environmental groups may refuse because they want to protect the countryside. Another example is the debate over expanding Heathrow Airport. Business groups argue it would bring jobs, while local residents and environmental groups worry about noise and pollution.
- Mumbai: In 2019 many trees in Aarey, a green area in Mumbai, were cut down to build a Metro depot. Politicians and planners said the Metro would reduce traffic, but environmental campaigners and local residents protested. In Dharavi, developers want to build new homes, but some residents worry that they might lose their small workshops.
Worked example
Question: Explain how the views of two groups can conflict in a named city.
Point: in London, property developers and planners can disagree.
Explain: developers want to build homes on cheap green belt land to make a profit, but planners want to protect the countryside from urban sprawl.
Link: a project may be refused or changed, so the economic challenge of housing is weighed against the environmental challenge of losing countryside.
Common mistakes
Common mistakes
- Mixing up the groups. A planner decides if a project is allowed; a developer builds it; a politician sets the budget and aims; an industrialist runs a business.
- Giving a role with no named city. Say London or Mumbai, and name the body or the project.
- Describing only one group. When asked about conflict, name two groups and say what each wants.
- Saying the groups simply "argue". Say what they disagree about, such as profit against protecting green space.
Exam-style question
(a) Give one role of a planner in a named city. [1 mark]
(b) Explain how property developers help to manage a named city. [3 marks]
(c) Explain why the views of different groups may conflict when a city is being managed. [3 marks]
Model answer
(a) In London, planners draw up the London Plan, which shows where homes and jobs should go. (1)
(b) In London, developers built the East Village on the old Olympic Park site. (1) They paid for and built new homes, which helps with the shortage of housing. (1) They also bring jobs and investment to the area. (1)
(c) Different groups want different things. (1) Developers want to build quickly to make a profit, but planners may want to protect green space. (1) Local people may want to keep their homes and jobs, which can conflict with new building schemes, as in the Aarey protests in Mumbai. (1)
Exam tip
For a question about conflict, always name two groups and say what each wants. Use a word such as "but" or "whereas" to show the difference between them.