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Urban Planning

Planning must take a long-term view of environmental needs, at the same time managing short-term goals
Derrick Hartley

Like all the other oil-exporting countries of the region, Oman has been experiencing an unprecedented increase in national income. It enjoys notable oil and gas resources, a substantial trade surplus and low inflation. As a consequence, development is now reaching all parts of the sultanate, particularly because of major national projects and expansion of the tourism industry. This is occurring against a background of continuing population growth, as well as the challenges of climate change and the need for environmental protection.

According to the Ministry of National Economy, the mid-year population of Oman was 2.5mn in 2005 and this is estimated at 3.2mn people for 2007. Oman is growing by 3.23 per cent per annum which means that its mid-year population will double to about 6.6mn in 23 years. Even if the birth rate slows (as seems likely), the need to accommodate a vastly increased population in the next 20 years is not in doubt.

How is the government responding to this situation? There is a Second Long Term Development Strategy (1996-2020) and master plans have been prepared for expanded areas and development projects such as the expansion of Sohar industrial area and port, and the new port and town for Duqum. Such plans are arguably an ad hoc response to short-term needs, just at the point where long-term spatial planning and co-ordinated action is needed.

The sultanate has enjoyed positive urban planning in the past, but the current agenda seems more focused on the short-term. It is desirable to take a longer term view of society and environmental needs, even as short to medium term projects are managed. Long-term spatial planning works for other countries and can work for Oman too.

Despite the work done in the 1980s on regional planning by the Supreme Committee for Town Planning, there is nothing as yet giving comprehensive planning guidance for the whole country. It is time, therefore, to call for a new thinking on urban planning so that the expected growth and development can be properly steered in the right direction. There are several strands which should be pursued to tackle the situation effectively.

Training of professional planners
Technical and university courses are needed in Oman to provide training for Omanis in urban planning and design. Ideally these should be based in the universities of Muscat, Nizwa, Dhofar and Sohar, perhaps each offering a different type of course. For example, these could be: development management; urban and regional planning; and masterplanning and urban design. The newly formed Oman German University of Technology is planning to offer one such course from next year onwards but more are needed. There is a new generation of Omani graduates educated overseas who could provide such training together with experienced expatriate academic staff.

Such courses will help provide trained professionals to take up positions in the public and private sectors. This has already happened in relation to civil engineering, which is one of the professions allied to urban planning. There is a nucleus of staff in those government bodies that currently deal with planning matters. Therefore it is suggested that a new Ministry of Physical Planning (or a similar title) should be created by upgrading and transferring the functions and staff of existing bodies.

The first objective of the new ministry should be to produce a national spatial strategy, similar to that prepared in Ireland. This would involve the development of a long term spatial vision, setting out the future development of towns and regions and the nation as a whole. Such a strategy should also embrace the key linkages and relationships to the relevant international networks.

Reform of building regulations
Another strand to be tackled is that of building regulations, since they contain a number of planning-related matters. At present most construction work in Oman is referred to the Muscat Municipality Building Regulations, which were originally prepared in the mid 1970s and revised in the 1990s. Thus they do not deal with climate-change related issues such as sustainability and energy efficiency. The planning matters in the regulations concerning building bulk and plot placement would be best covered by planning policy guidelines issued by the suggested Ministry of Physical Planning.

The building regulations need to be recast as a set of building codes which address all aspects of building construction. The codes would contain administrative regulations, development control rules and general building requirements; fire safety requirements; stipulations on materials, structural design and construction (including safety); building and plumbing services; and energy efficiency. They should also include the lessons learned from the aftermath of natural calamities such as earthquakes and cyclones witnessed recently by the country.

National building codes are used in countries as diverse as Canada, Jordan, India, Australia and Finland. The time has surely come for the government to consider the benefits of such an approach for Oman.

Plan-making for Oman
The third strand in the rethinking is the codification of 'plan-making' in the sultanate. This stems from the observation that the style and nature of master and development plans relates to what is most familiar to the consultancy that is commissioned to prepare them. Thus the particular needs of Omani culture and heritage are not always considered in the way they should be.

Often there can be little relationship between the various plans prepared in terms of policies and proposals and their expression in written and mapped form. Clarification can be achieved by preparing clear national guidance for all to follow, whether a government agency or a private consultancy.

Britain has recently upgraded and reformed its plan-making approach and departmental circulars explain this clearly with worked examples showing what is now required from local authorities. Such an approach would be useful if it were adopted by the new ministry.

Strengthening of institutions
The fourth strand concerns the nature of governance in the planning field – how the development plans are prepared and then implemented and monitored. In the past there have been regional bodies for the Musandam, Dhofar, and for the rural areas of Oman, which were responsible for planning in their functional areas.

It is desirable that the nine regions and governorates are strengthened progressively with powers to deal with urban planning and land allocation in their areas. This cannot happen immediately since trained Omani staff are not yet available. These will become so when the first students graduate from the new technical and university courses.

Therefore a short-term solution could be to set up 'shadow' sections within the new ministry that would handle urban planning matters, perhaps for groups of regions. For example, such groupings could be based on the Batinah coast, the Interior, Dhofar and Sur and environs. Muscat Municipality should assume all urban planning powers for its functional area in any scheme that would be agreed.

The way forward
Other countries in the region, such as the UAE, are starting to move to respond to the implications of climate change. With its environmental and 'green' credentials it is now time for Oman to join this movement. It should align its urban planning methods and procedures so that communities are properly planned to be fully sustainable, energy efficient and environmentally sound in the long term. In this education, plan-making, building codes and governance all have their part to play as recommended here. Action on these fronts would ensure Omanis in the future can benefit from the wise actions of the present generation.