A Territorial Planning Plan (also called by its acronym POT) is, in the field of Colombian urban planning, a technical instrument that the country's municipalities have to plan and organize their territory.[1]​ Its objective is to integrate physical, socioeconomic and environmental planning with management and financing instruments, in such a way that the planning principles are materialized in the territory. These documents must include studies on changes in the demographic structure of the municipality, risk areas (due to floods, fires, landslides, etc.), protection of the supporting environmental structure, socioeconomic behavior of its population, among many others.

By establishing itself as an instrument that must be part of state policies, the POT aims to promote sustainable development, helping governments guide the regulation, location and development of human settlements.

Territorial Planning Plans are valid for 12 years from the moment of their adoption, a time that corresponds to three constitutional periods of local level authorities in Colombia. Once this term has expired, the respective authorities must begin the process of reviewing the document for the issuance of a new POT, which must comply with a rigorous participation process with the population of the municipality or district.[2]​[3]​.

According to the characteristics and size of each municipality, different types of plans are established as follows:

When talking about POT, reference is made to all the mentioned categories.

All types of plans must include the following components:

In accordance with Law 388 of 1997 on Territorial Planning, the POT must be made with the information it gathers through the preparation of the technical diagnosis, complemented by that provided by those who know and live the reality of the municipality day by day, and must be the result of a process of participation and consultation with all the actors involved:

The POT preparation process has three phases: