Development around road interchanges can be a double-edged sword where controlled growth brings dividends, while uncontrolled growth creates headaches for motorists, land owners and local officials.

While it is not necessary to completely prevent this growth from occurring, it has to be carefully regulated if we are to minimise aforementioned negative impacts. In fact, interchange areas can be converted into development zones that fuel the local and national economy by putting a comprehensive spatial plan in place. It is worth noting that ‘one size fits all’ is never a viable approach to formulating spatial plans for interchange areas. Spatial plans should be sensitive to local economic, social, transport and environmental conditions.

This post is a summary of Dr Rohan Wickramsuriya’s piece for The Nation. Read it in full via The Nation online.