Chapter 11 Urban Environments 11.0 Urban Environments 11.1 Introduction and Issue Recognising and providing for existing urban environments including patterns of settlement and appropriate new development. In the past, people have tended to live by choice in urban environments, where they can work and live in close proximity to each other. The development of urban environments is interrelated with this choice to “live together” and accordingly changes with the changing needs of the population. At the same time, changes in the urban environment affect the people who live in it and choices they make. Town planning has evolved with the development of the urban environment and now plays an integral role in enabling people to maximise the economic, social and cultural opportunities available to them. This Plan will supercede previous documents and caters for the continuing development of the urban environment in Blenheim (the main urban centre in Marlborough) the several smaller, more residential areas and rural service centres, and the more remote settlements located within the Plan area. Urban environments serve a very important function by concentrating and organising urban services. Considerable infrastructure, information and organisation exist in the urban environment. Urban services include sewage disposal, water supply, transport linkages, retail services, community facilities, emergency service activities and information transfer. Consequently, a considerable level of investment (ie resource) is tied up in the urban environment. The sustainable management of the urban environment resource will ensure its continued and successful existence. The Need to Sustainably Manage the Urban Resource In broad management terms it can be seen that the urban environment is clearly the host to many different activities with varying effects. Some of the effects of urban activities are often only observed at a local scale while others are more widespread. In order to sustain the urban environment resource, some control over these local effects is required. To ensure that the urban environment is a pleasant place for people to live in, and thereby ensuring its continued viability and sustainability, some control over the wider ranging effects will also be necessary. The Resource Management Act (the Act) provides for a range of tools to be used to manage the urban environment. Among these, the concept of zoning is available as a basic technique of land use control. It is an important and useful planning tool which recognises geographical differences and enables areas with different sensitivities to effects to be identified. Activities with similar effects are able to be grouped together. Any adverse effects can be restricted to a defined area. Zoning provides certainty to land users. Zoning has been used as the basic technique in this Plan. Three major land use components in the urban environment have been identified, comprising residential, business and industrial. These form the basis of the zoning. Land subdivision is also a 11 - 1