This type of land use planning fits into a top down approach of planning.
Experts elaborate the plans. The approach is very scientific. Several planning
steps are identified that need to be carried out one after the other.
The final product is a written document of several hundred pages, accompanied
by very detailed maps whose content from the moment of
impression frequently becomes outdated. The elaboration of such land use
plans generally takes several years. Most of the time is used for investigation and data validation. Meanwhile, recommendations for action often
remain very general and less elaborate. In many cases, operational plans
are not included. There is no or very little debate and coordination with
other stakeholders. Plans of sector ministries generally are not considered
and no exchange or joint planning workshop takes place. There is also no
connection to financial planning. Most of these plans soon disappear in
bookshelves. Their practical use later (today) is mainly that of allowing
time-line analysis of land use changes in specific areas, because the maps
indicate how land was used 20 or 30 years ago.