SYSTE OF PLAN 
PHYSICAL PLAN I 
THE TAS OF SUR 
Dr. Anton Prosen 
FAGG, Oddelek za geodezijo, Ljubljana 
Received for publication: July 18, 1994 
Abstract 
The article describes briefly the spatial planning theory and 
the resulting surveying tasks and directives f or further 
developrrient of planning as well as surveying. 
Keywords: Geodetic workshop, land consolidation, physical 
planning, Radenci, spatial planning, surveying, 1994 
l. IN'fRODUCTION 
UDC 711.011:528 
061.3(497.12-2) Radenci "1994" 
INGAND 
GANO 
NG 
In the introduction of this article I would like to go through the main tasks of surveying and how they are reflected in the activity of planning and physical 
planning. A view into history clearly shows how surveying has had an important role 
within physical planning already some thousands of years before. From that times 
there exists a map of the city of Babylon and maps of agricultural land on clay tablets 
(Informationsschrift ... 1993). The present tasks of surveying remain the same as in 
the past but methods of work have changed radically. Nowadays outer galactic radio 
signals can be received, electromagnetic waves to artificial Earth's satellites are sent, 
and laser light is used for determining the distance among continents or position of 
points on the surface of the Earth; by measurements we determine movements of the 
continents, by satellite methods altimetric movements of the oceans are determined, 
and likewise climatic changes can be recorded. Contents of maps and charts may be 
stored in a computer digital form prepared in such a way to be automatically 
reproduced with various contenis and at various scales. Surveyors get the data for 
maps and charts elaboration with the help of cameras or by electronic sensors in 
airplanes or Earth's satellites. The evaluation and interpretation of the contents of 
the image is automated. We, the surveyors cooperate in planning and realization of 
infrastructure objects construction, in planning and furnishing individual urban zones, 
in provisions for environment and nature protection, in managing rural land, and 
least but not last the task of surveyors is the settling of proprietorship relations on 
parcels where a new usage of land is planned. 
The enumerated tasks of surveying are nowadays closely connected with physical and spatial planning although neither the planers' nor the surveyors' branch may 
be aware of it. The share of the surveying profession within the planning and physical 
planning may sometimes be difficult to be measured since it is dependent on the 
degree of the development of the system of physical and spatial planning in an 
individual state and above all it depends on mutual cooperation and adequate 
Geodetski vestnik 38 ( 1994) 3 
1 
coordination among individual professions. Nowadays the role of the surveying 
profession in physical planning grows more and more ,m,~ 0 ,.,~ since one of its fields 
of work is also to study natural and social environment which cornprises 
measurements of available land and water sources and their exploitation and usage 
of the gained data for developmental planning of urban, rural, and regional areas 
(FIG Publikations No. 7 in Informacija o študiju geodezije 1994). 
2. PLANNINGAND PHYSICAL PLANNING 
,,,_,,,,.,.,..., is an activity with which individuals and society themselves settle 
lives in the present for the future. There exist different notions of planning 
such as e.g. economic, social, spatial, regional, city planning, landscape planning, 
planning of individual sectors, and alike. In personal and public life a set of structural 
factors gets more and more intertwined and with the development of the society 
these connections get ever more diverse and co-dependent. This is the cause the 
development of individual activities on various territorial levels has to be coordinated 
and planned. The whole complex of activities may be divided into economic, social, 
and spatial activities. The term spatial planning stands for physical planning and 
displacement of activities bound to space. Nowadays integral or wholesorne planning 
is gaining on importance since it should create somewhat harmonic social, econornic, 
and spatial development taking into account the given characteristics of the 
geographical environment and seeking for a harrnony with the environment. 
1973 in Strassbourg European states have accepted the following components 
physical planning: physical planning, regional planning, and planning space 
organization (Naprudnik 1985). The term physical planning stands for better and 
supervised usage of land for settling, agriculture, forestry, transport routes, 
recreation, and alike. Regional planning is nowadays the basis for coordinating the 
development on the regional and local level with the aim to raise the level of life in 
the whole area; its conception is no longer physical but land functional. Planing space 
organization is a policy of physical planning and it should lead to such space 
organization and human dwellings to create the best living conditions for people. The 
aim of a good planning is a creation of a new space order, a tendency to settle 
stability, social solidarity, and integration of mankind, and natura! conditions 
(Glikson 1971). These aims and tasks of the spatial planning change as to the leve! of 
planning and the extent of space processing. In connection with this there are: local 
( communal), regional, and state and international planning and along with these 
spatial managing may be divided into spatial and town planning. Urban planning is a 
professional and social activity, which plans growth of settlements, their restoration 
and creates optimum conditions for dwellings, work, traffic, and recreation. Here the 
construction-technical, technological, architectural, and designing aspect actually 
expresses itself (Pogačnik 1980). Regardless of the enumerated hierarchy of plans or 
their definition and timely plan determination planning is divided into individual 
phases based on a usage of databases and information systems. Therefore some 
authors (Hoisl 1982) regard planning a return-closed process based on data 
acquisition, processing, and application. 
Geodetski vestnik 38 (1994) 3 
owadays spatial planning is ever more regarded as planning spatial ecology since it 
comprises nature and society, with it we try to achieve perfect integration of social 
economic development, population flow, urban e.g. settling, industrial, and agricultural 
development, and landscape reconstruction. Further the task of spatial planning is a 
priority fulfillment of social functions such as: dwellings, work, supply, education, 
recreation, moving and living in an environment which has ecologically and structurally 
divided available use of land with minimal conflicts, and, in which damage prevention is 
assured. The basis of economic spatial development guidance are ecosystems such as 
usage production basis therefore at physical planning protection and an even production 
of the ecosystem has to be achieved along with minimum damage (Buchnwald, 
Engelhard 1980). Emerging form these tasks as a basis worldwide a spatial protection 
planning has developed, its aim beeing the treatment of natura! environment and its 
components as the goods which are limited and can not be substituted when exhausted 
or destroyed. Ecological or protecting orientation of planning means adding ecological 
components into a system 9f physical planning, integration of ecological planning into 
integral and sector planning. Resulting this orientation landscape planning has been 
formed and besides global environment protection it has comprised some forms of 
taking care for the natura! environment (Prosen 1993). A preparation of any kind of 
spatial plan is on the one side a technical, professional, and scientific task, and on the 
other it is also an artistic one (Košir 1993) the latter beeing valid as such for urban 
settlements in particular. The above presentation of the theory of spatial planning should 
form a foundation for the in the following text explained rough division of tasks the 
surveying profession could take over in the new emerging system of plaiming and 
physical planning. 
3. PAR1'ICIPATION OF SURVEYING IN PHYSICAL PLANNING 
mong the tasks the surveying profession already executes within the activities of 
planning and physical planning two issues must be clear:.either the surveying 
profession offers certain basics and data or else it is the carrier of these activities. 
With the set up of geographic and land information systems e.g. information systems 
on the whole the role of surveying within the complex of planning and physical 
planning has intensified greatly. From the original task of supplying basics e.g. maps 
and plans surveying is nowadays capable of much more, narnely: 
• maps, plans and air photographs in digital technique 
• data on natural and built-up environment 
• data on protected and endangered areas 
• data on present use, and alike. 
In the 1970's much thought was given to procedures and methods of planning (Sedlar 
1970, Naprudnik 1985) and to dividing the latter to individual phases namely 
inventarization ( data collecting and processing), valorization ( data evaluation and 
analysis), and plan elaboration (variant solutions). At present these considerations 
are in many ways different yet they do not deviate from this concept of work 
methods though it is trne that geographic information systems resulting from the 
concept and methodological approach to an individua! planned act may save much 
tirne at data collecting, evaluating and analyzing. 
Geodetski vestnik 38 (1994) 3 
atabases and information systems for urban planning and project making are at 
present more and more based on data basics which are connected with the state of 
the parcels e.g. the land information system. This means the setting up of a cadastral real 
condition in a digital form. The setting up of information systems for the needs of 
planning and physical planning onto a land information system is a necessity since to 
realize plans and maps adequate land has to be provided and land-legal relations settled. 
he intensity and level of the cooperation of the surveying profession in the 
activity of spatial and physical planning depends among other things on the level 
of planning. There surely is a difference of a profession cooperation at an 
elaboration of a state plan from that one of a local community plan or even from an 
elaboration of an urban area development plan. The examples from Germany (Seele 
et al. 1982) show the surveying profession may also be a carrier of tasks from the 
field of physical planning. In the previous century the surveyors in Germany began to 
be educated also for the need of agricultural land managing ("Kulturtechnik") which 
today means managing and development of rural areas. These tasks have been 
. developed within. the complex of a planning subdivision e.g. land consolidation which 
has begun through centuries began to develop as a means of physical planning and 
with which plans of the state, regional, and local level are realized. In our 
environment the regrouping of parcels is still treated as an agricultural operation 
though it is the professional technical procedure with which technically, ecologically, 
and legally land is reorganized and a possibility of putting into force various usages 
of land parcels and with it to cover the society's need for building sites are ensured. 
This means such a plan for regrouping of parcels considers integral needs of a certain 
area and planners-methodological demands as well as ecological and designing-
managing ones. The coordination of planning and executing spatial important 
measures should be a help to an expedient realization of these measures with one 
spatial construction plan and no longer with partial sector approaches. The principles 
of land consolidation may be used also in managing a settlement or its parts and 
above all the land consolidation may be used as a method of gaining building sites. 
he term land consolidation is used more or less for managing agricultural parcels 
e.g. countryside and is an agrarian technical operation which main task is 
collecting dispersed property on which there is an agricultural production of the 
same legal person with coincident disposal right into a whole or at least a few 
round-up areas (economic effects). The term planning subdivision is used more or 
less for managing land-legal relations in realizing urban documents on areas intended 
for dwellings construction or trade and production. On a voluntary basis land owners 
put their parcels into a land consolidation fund from which under a certain 
procedure shares are allocated to an individual investor according to the urban act 
and accdrding to the value of the deposit. From the stated it is evident that sooner or 
later also our society is bound to give support to our profession and entrust us with 
these tasks. To our regret this kind of need and trust is not present yet. 
4. CONCLUSION 
e review of our legislation from the past and from it arising planning methodology 
after the second world war shows that this distinctly interdisciplinary adivity has had 
Geodetski vestnik 38 (1994) 3 
its ups and downs. The same goes for the surveying profession and the 
it has had from politics and society. The new social system and the way to Europe 
demand a different aucn v,:t,..-11 of spatial planning and managing, and in general quite 
different concem about the environment. All stated demands from all of us a 
different attitude towards the planners' as well as the surveying profession. For our 
social planning heritage neither the profession nor the state may take pride in so with 
sufficient professional seriousness and using European methods a new system of 
planning and decision-making about spatial intervention and usage of land on the 
whole should be set up. Just now we witness strategic decisions about a new usage of 
land in our state yet this state has no state plan of its own. Worldwide spatial 
development and protection are based on high quality regional plans but we know 
nothing of a regional planning. One wonders who benefits from blind forces? 
Slovenia there are some attempts at setting up geographic information systems 
it seems there is no real connection with the origin of methodology of 
planning. One has a feeling the surveying profession is sometimes deliberately 
pushed off the planners' profession to be more easily taxed with beeing the 
out-of-date and obsolete. We are aware of these shortcomings and they are 
consciously done away with. It is regrettable but in our society sector planning still 
dominates over the complex one and this is the cause some individual professions 
dominate in the system of planning while others are beeing set aside. The answer 
why so is not known! The role of the surveying profession in physical planning and 
countryside and village development is clear enough especially in Germany ~hereas 
in our environment some institutions regard this activity not part of our line of work. 
Even more could be said about shortcomings we feel in the field of the development 
of the surveying profession as to physical planning and managing. The Geodetic 
workshop may be a good opportunity for new work tasks. 
Literature: 
Buchwald, K., Engelhardt, W, 1980, Handbuch fuer Plannung, Gestaltung un Schutz der Umwelt, 
BL V Verlagsgesellschaft Muenchen, Wien und Zuerich. 
Glikson, A., 1971, Regionalno planiranje i razvoj, Klub mladih arhitekata, Beograd. 
Hoisl, R., 1982, Planungstheoretische Grundlagen zum Plan ueber die gemeinschaftliche und 
oeffentlichen Anlagen, Ministerium fuer Emaerung, Landwirtschaft und Forsten, 
Baden-Wuertenberg. 
Jnfonnacija o študiju geodezije, 1994, FAGG OGG, Ljubljana. 
Jnfonnationsschrift zum Studiengang Vermessungswesen an der Rheinischen 
Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universitaet, 1993, Bonn. 
Košir, 1993, Zamisel mesta, Slovenska matica, Ljubljana. 
Naprudnik, M, 1985, Družbeno-ekonomske opredelitve geodetske inventarizacije prostora, 
Doktorska disertacija, FAGG OGG, Ljubljana. 
Pogačnik, A., 1980, Urbanistično planiranje, Učbenik, FAGG VTOGG, Ljubljana. 
Prosen, A., 1993, Sonaravno urejanje podeželskega prostora, Doktorska disertacija, FAGG OGG, 
Ljubljana. 
Sedlar, S., 1970, Inventarizacija prostora, Geodetska dejavnost v inventarizaciji prostora, Bled. 
Seele, W et al. 1982, Flurbereinigung, Bundesministerium fuer Emaerung, Landwirtschaft und 
Forsten, Bonn. 
Review: profdr. Milan Naprudnik 
Darko Tanko 
Geodetski vestnik 38 (1994) 3