Town planning is a broad professional field that deals with how land is used, how places change over time, and how development is guided through policy, strategy and statutory processes.
That broader field includes a number of different areas of practice. Two of the most commonly confused are development assessment and urban design. While they often work alongside each other on the same project, they are not the same thing and they serve different purposes.
In this article, your local town planner explains the difference between the broader field of town planning, the development assessment side of planning, and the role of urban design so you can better understand what type of input your project may need.
Need planning advice for a site or project? Contact Doyen Town Planning on (07) 3180 4702 orrequest a free report to get started.
Town planning is the broader discipline concerned with land use, development, planning policy, strategic growth and place outcomes. It is not limited to development approvals alone.
In practice, planning can include strategic planning, planning policy, statutory planning, development assessment, place-making, and urban design-related input depending on the nature of the project.
For most property owners, developers and project teams, however, the part of planning they deal with most directly is development assessment. That is the side of planning concerned with whether a proposal requires approval, how it is assessed against the planning framework, and how it moves through the relevant Council process.
Town planning is broader than just application work. It also includes early site due diligence, identifying approval risks, advising on development potential, and helping shape a proposal before it reaches the lodgement stage.
Town planning consultants work within the planning framework established by State and local government, including planning schemes, zoning, overlays, neighbourhood plans, development standards and assessment benchmarks.
Development assessment is one part of the broader planning profession. It is the statutory and approval-focused side of planning that most people associate with development applications.
In practical terms, development assessment involves things like:
This is often the part of planning that clients are referring to when they say they need a planner.
If your main concern is whether a project can be approved, whether overlays affect the site, or how to navigate the approval process, you will generally need development assessment advice from a professional town planner.
Urban design is a related but different area of practice. It is more concerned with the physical form, function and experience of places.
Where development assessment is focused on approval pathways and planning compliance, urban design is focused on how a place works and presents in real terms. That includes how buildings address the street, how open space is arranged, how people move through a site, how built form relates to its context, and how the development contributes to the overall quality of the public realm.
Urban design often becomes more important on larger, more prominent or more design-sensitive projects, particularly where the success of the proposal depends not only on whether it can be approved, but also on how well it performs as a place.
Typical urban design outputs may include masterplans, built form studies, precinct frameworks, design guidelines, public realm concepts and streetscape strategies.
The clearest way to understand the difference is this:
Development assessment asks whether a proposal is likely to be supported within the statutory planning framework and what needs to be done to obtain approval.
Urban design asks how the place should be arranged, how it should function, and what sort of built outcome it will create.
A development assessment-focused planner might ask:
An urban design-focused consultant might ask:
These are different questions, but they often overlap in practice. A well-considered design response can support a stronger planning case, and a good planning strategy can help shape a more practical and supportable design outcome.
A lot of articles incorrectly compare town planning and urban design as though they are equal and completely separate disciplines. That is too simplistic.
A more accurate explanation is that town planning is the broader field, and within that field there are different streams of practice. Development assessment is one of them. Urban design is another related stream that often overlaps with planning, architecture and landscape architecture.
That is why the more useful comparison for most clients is not really town planning versus urban design. It is development assessment versus urban design, within the broader context of town planning.
If you are trying to get a development approved, whether that is a residential subdivision, a commercial building, a townhouse project, a mixed-use development or another form of proposal that requires Council approval, you will generally need development assessment advice from a professional town planner.
They can assess the site, identify the relevant planning controls, highlight likely issues, and guide the application through the approval process.
If you are trying to shape the physical form of a place, such as how buildings relate to the street, how a site functions, or how a precinct should be structured, you may also need urban design input.
For straightforward projects, development assessment advice may be the main planning input required. For larger or more complex projects, both development assessment and urban design input can be valuable.
A practical example would be a townhouse development on a constrained suburban site. The planner may advise on zoning, overlays, approval triggers and application strategy, while the urban design input may help resolve streetscape presentation, site layout, landscaping, circulation and overall built form response.
“Town planning is just paperwork”
Good planning advice is not just about lodging documents. It also involves understanding development potential, identifying risks early, shaping a strategy, and helping avoid unnecessary delays or poor project decisions.
“Urban design and planning are the same thing”
They are closely related, but they are not the same. Planning is the broader field. Development assessment is one stream within it. Urban design is another related area focused more on built form and place outcomes.
“You only need one or the other”
That depends on the project. Many smaller proposals may mainly require development assessment advice. More complex or design-sensitive proposals may benefit from both planning and urban design input.
One of the most common mistakes in property development is engaging the wrong consultant too late, or not properly understanding what kind of input a project actually needs. Read more: 5 common town planning mistakes and how to avoid them
A good town planning consultant does more than lodge paperwork. They assess your site, identify constraints and opportunities, guide the approval strategy, and help keep your project moving through the planning process with greater clarity and confidence.
If you need advice on a site, a proposed development, or the likely approval pathway, call (07) 3180 4702 or request a free report to find out how we can help.
Your report covers:
Zoning, heritage & character housing
Flooding, bushfire, noise & vegetation overlays
Easements, stormwater, sewer & water