Town planning is a multidisciplinary and dynamic profession that is based on certain ideas and concepts to promote social, environmental, physical, and economic development factors for sustainable population growth. Town planning mainly has two broad categories where town planners focus their daily activities and problem-solving skills. The two main planning categories consist of

• Spatial Planning
• Statutory/Land Use Planning

What is spatial planning? 

 Spatial planning is a strategic and holistic process and approach that seeks to coordinate, organize, and integrate how the economy, society, and built environment operate in space. Spatial planning primarily focuses on the strategic allocation of land for different uses, such as residential, commercial, industrial, transportation, infrastructure, and environmental considerations, to create functional and sustainable urban or rural spaces.

Spatial planning gives guidance to the overall vision that a city or municipality has based on a 5- or 10-year vision. Spatial planning assists provinces, municipalities, the public, and developers in key decision-making. 

An example of a key output and creation of spatial planning is the following:

• Spatial Development Framework

What is land use planning? 

Land use planning, also referred to as statutory planning, is a process that town planners attend to and involves the systematic assessment, evaluation, and regulation of the use of land to promote and achieve specific social, economic, and environmental objectives.

Land Use Planning seeks to determine the most appropriate and sustainable ways to utilize land for various purposes that include residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, recreational, or conservation activities.

In South Africa, land use planning can be done by means of land use applications or land development applications. The purpose of a land use application is to amend the land use rights or zoning, the size of a land parcel, or the form of a property.

A land use application can be done by means of the following land use application processes:

• Rezoning
• Consent use
• Subdivision
• Township Establishment
• Division of a township
• Extension of Township Boundaries
• Removal of Restrictive Title Conditions
• Permission
• Departures

In South Africa, town planners are homeowners, municipalities, provincial departments, or national departments appointed by private developers to assist with the above land use application processes.

Overall, land use planning plays a critical role in shaping the physical environment for cities and municipalities.