Urban planning: Difference between revisions

Urban planning answers questions about how people will live, work and play in a given area and thus, guides orderly development in urban, [[suburb]]an and [[rural area]]s.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Encyclopedia of the City|last=Caves|first=R. W.|publisher=Routledge|year=2004|isbn=978-0415862875|pages=704}}</ref> Although predominantly concerned with the planning of [[Human settlement|settlements]] and communities, urban planners are also responsible for planning the efficient transportation of goods, resources, people and waste; the distribution of basic necessities such as water and electricity; a sense of inclusion and opportunity for people of all kinds, culture and needs; economic growth or business development; improving health and conserving areas of natural environmental significance that actively contributes to reduction in CO2 emissions<ref name="bdcnetwork.com">{{Cite web|title=3 urban planning trends that are changing how our cities will look in the future|url=https://www.bdcnetwork.com/blog/3-urban-planning-trends-are-changing-how-our-cities-will-look-future|access-date=2020-09-25|website=Building Design + Construction|date=18 February 2020|language=en}}</ref> as well as protecting heritage structures and built environments. Urban planning is a dynamic field since the questions around how people live, work and play changes with time. These changes are constantly reflected in planning methodologies, zonal codes and policies making it a highly technical, political, social, economical and environmental field.

There is evidence of urban planning and designed communities dating back to the [[Mesopotamia]]n, [[Indus Valley Civilisation|Indus Valley]], [[Minoan civilization|Minoan]], and [[Ancient Egypt|Egyptian]] civilizations in the [[3rd millennium BC|third millennium BCE]]. Archaeologists studying the ruins of cities in these areas find paved streets that were laid out at right angles in a grid pattern.<ref name=Davreu1>Davreu, Robert (1978). "Cities of Mystery: The Lost Empire of the Indus Valley". ''The World’s Last Mysteries''. (second edition). Sydney: Readers’ Digest. pp. 121-129. {{ISBN|0-909486-61-1}}.</ref> The idea of a planned out urban area evolved as different civilizations adopted it. Beginning in the 8th century BCE, Greek city states were primarily centered on orthogonal (or grid-like) plans.<ref>Kolb, Frank (1984). Die Stadt im Altertum. München: Verlag C.H. Beck. pp. 51-141: Morris, A.E.J. (1972). History of Urban Form. Prehistory to the Renaissance. London. pp. 22-23.</ref> The [[ancient Rome|ancient Romans]], inspired by the Greeks, also used orthogonal plans for their cities. City planning in the Roman world was developed for military defense and public convenience. The spread of the [[Roman Empire]] subsequently spread the ideas of urban planning. As the Roman Empire declined, these ideas slowly disappeared. However, many cities in Europe still held onto the planned Roman city center. Cities in Europe from the 9th to 14th centuries, often grew organically and sometimes chaotically. But in the following centuries with the coming of the [[Renaissance]] many new cities were enlarged with newly planned extensions.<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://dare.uva.nl/en/record/336940|title=The foundation, planning and building of new towns in the 13th and 14th centuries in Europe. An architectural-historical research into urban form and its creation.|last=Boerefijn|first=Wim|publisher=Phd. thesis Universiteit van Amsterdam|year=2010|isbn=978-90-9025157-8}}</ref> From the 15th century on, much more is recorded of urban design and the people that were involved. In this period, theoretical treatises on architecture and urban planning start to appear in which theoretical questions around planning the main lines, ensuring plans meet the needs of the given population and so forth are addressed and designs of towns and cities are described and depicted. During the [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment period]], several European rulers ambitiously attempted to redesign capital cities. During the [[Second French Empire]], [[Georges-Eugène Haussmann|Baron Georges-Eugène Haussmann]], under the direction of [[Napoleon III]], [[Haussmann's renovation of Paris|redesigned the city of Paris]] into a more modern capital, with long, straight, wide boulevards.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Jordan|first1=David|title=Baron Haussmann and Modern Paris|journal=American Scholar|date=1992|volume=61|issue=1|page=99}}</ref>