Cities and municipalities in rapidly urbanising and countries rarely have the capacities to plan, in advance and to scale, for population growth; resulting in failure to provide available serviced land. The result is often that urban growth materialises in the form of slums and informal settlements.
The Rapid Planning Studio (RPS) is a workshop that integrates the three fundamental pillars – urban legislation, urban finance and urban planning – of sustainable urban development. The workshop reproduces the full planning process in a three-day format geared primarily towards technical municipal staff.
The RPS aims to strengthen planning capacity and to provide a straightforward planning methodology and actionable roadmap to supply serviced land for rapid urban growth. The workshop harnesses the knowledge, talent, and zeal of all parties involved to identify an achievable process towards sustainable urban development.
Thomas of TSPA developed and refined the RPS workshop format for the Urban Planning and Design Branch of UN-Habitat in close cooperation with urban legislation and urban economy experts and colleagues at UN-Habitat. It has since been implemented in more than 7 nations and over 20 cities, among them:
- Mozambique – Nampula, Nacala
- The Philippines – Tacloban, Zamboanga, Cagayan de Oro, Iloilo, Silay, Manila
- Rwanda – Kigali, Nyagatare, Rubavu,
- Kenya – Nakuru, Naivasha, Diani, Nairobi, Kisumu
- Nigeria – Dekina, Kabba, Okene, Lokoja
- Ethiopia – Adama
- Myanmar – Kuala Lumpur