Landscape development of industrial estates

Abstract

In recent years there has been a trend to locate factories and warehouses in suburban industrial subdivisions planned and zoned for this specific use.

These subdivisions are generally owned and established by one developer, who proceeds to sell individual titles for building once services and distributor roads have been established.

These developments, referred to as industrial estates, are generally planned in the manner of traditional subdivisions. Buildings are often of varying design and appearance to suit individual industrial functions. Extensive hard surfacing is required for parking, circulation and storage. Various barriers such as fences and walls are used to define boundaries and provide security.

Without effective planning and space allocation, these elements essential to industry frequently result in a confused and visually degraded environment. This can have an adverse affect on adjacent land uses, lead to unpleasant working conditions, present an unfavourable public image for industrial firms occupying the estate, and contribute to industrial inefficiency through poor estate identity and weak spatial structure.

The grouping of industries into estates, while offering advantages to both the developer and the industrialist, and also satisfying the zoning needs of the planner, will in itself not result in an improvement to the overall industrial environment if the estate design is incompatible with both the broader natural environment and human values.

The overall aim of this study is to demonstrate the need for landscape development, based on sound design principles, at the initial planning stage of an Industrial Estate.