Urban Planning

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The process of designing and managing the physical, social, and economic development of cities and towns.

Urbanization: The process of becoming urban or the growth of cities and towns.
Urban design: The process of designing and planning public spaces, such as streets, parks, and buildings, to ensure functionality and aesthetics.
Transportation planning: The planning and design of transportation systems, including roads, public transit, bicycles, and pedestrian infrastructure.
Land use planning: A planning process that determines the allowable uses of land, such as residential, commercial, or industrial.
Environmental planning: The process of assessing the potential impact of a development project on natural resources, such as air, water, and soil quality.
Zoning: The division of land into different zones based on designated uses and regulations.
Sustainable development: A development approach that balances economic development with social and environmental considerations.
Community participation: The process of involving community members in the planning process to ensure that their needs and ideas are considered.
Social justice in planning: The ethical and equitable distribution of resources and services based on socioeconomic status, race, and other factors.
Historic preservation: The process of preserving and protecting historic buildings, structures, and neighborhoods.
Real estate development: The process of transforming land by constructing buildings and other structures for residential, commercial, or industrial use.
Economic development: The process of improving economic opportunities in a particular area or region, often through job creation, infrastructure development, and business incentives.
Disaster planning and management: The process of preparing for and responding to natural disasters and emergencies, such as floods, fires, or earthquakes.
Public health planning: The process of promoting healthy living behaviors and creating conditions that support physical, social, and mental well-being.
Urban governance: The processes and systems that govern urban areas, including municipal and regional government structures and policies.
Comprehensive Planning: Comprehensive planning is a type of urban planning that takes a complete approach to cities' development, addressing issues such as land use, transportation, housing, environmental sustainability, and economic development.
Regional Planning: Regional Planning is a type of planning that involves the coordination and development of neighboring communities, as it considers the physical, cultural, and economic aspects of an entire region.
Land Use Planning: Land Use Planning is the process of determining the best use for land within a specific geography or community. It helps to ensure efficient, sustainable, and equitable use of land across a region.
Transportation Planning: Transportation Planning involves the development of an efficient transportation infrastructure that facilitates the movement of goods and people. It includes the development of roads, public transit systems, bike lanes, and pedestrian-friendly urban initiatives.
Environmental Planning: Environmental planning involves the development of sustainable urban areas that are resilient to environmental changes. It looks at ways to mitigate the negative effects of urbanization on the natural environment.
Community Planning: Community Planning is a process of engaging community members in decision-making that affects their physical environment. It enables residents, stakeholders, and local authorities to work together to create a more inclusive and socially connected urban environment.
Strategic Planning: Strategic Planning emphasizes the involvement of stakeholders in the decision-making process for the development of a city. It aligns vision and strategies, outlines policies and initiatives, and sets measurable objectives for urban growth and development.
Waterfront Planning: Waterfront Planning focuses on the development of public spaces along the city waterways, which create meeting spaces and recreational areas for citizens.
Economic Development Planning: Economic Development Planning is the process of identifying and leveraging key strategies to encourage the economic growth of a city or region. It focuses on attracting new businesses, creating job opportunities, and ensuring economic sustainability.
Heritage Planning: Heritage Planning refers to preserving historic districts and monuments, and encouraging the integration of cultural heritage sites into urban planning initiatives.
Urban Renewal Planning: Urban Renewal Planning involves redevelopment and revitalization of urban infrastructure, the replacement of old buildings, and efficient utilization of land.
Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Planning: TOD Planning aims to promote residential, retail, and commercial real estate near public transportation systems, and opportunities for green transit options such as walking, cycling or electric vehicles.
Greenfield & Brownfield Planning: Greenfield and Brownfield Planning both involve developing lands that were either previously undeveloped or previously contaminated, respectively. Greenfield planning often involves using developmental strategies that protect the environment, while Brownfield planning relies on effective management of environmental risks during the redevelopment process.
Smart City Planning: Smart City Planning involves utilizing technological innovations to improve the quality of life for urban residents. It includes the implementation of technologies such as smart grids, security systems, and transportation applications.
Zoning Planning: Zoning Planning is deciding the way the land is to be used while dividing it into different zones, such as commercial, residential, and industrial zones.
"Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment..."
"...including air, water, and the infrastructure passing into and out of urban areas, such as transportation, communications, and distribution networks and their accessibility."
"Many professional practitioners of urban planning, especially practitioners with the title 'urban planner,' study urban planning education, while some paraprofessional practitioners are educated in urban studies..."
"...others study and work in urban policy - the aspect of public policy used in the public administration subfield of political science that is most aligned with urban planning."
"Traditionally, urban planning followed a top-down approach in master planning the physical layout of human settlements."
"The primary concern was the public welfare, which included considerations of efficiency, sanitation, protection and use of the environment, as well as effects of the master plans on the social and economic activities."
"Over time, urban planning has adopted a focus on the social and environmental bottom-lines that focus on planning as a tool to improve the health and well-being of people while maintaining sustainability standards."
"In the early 21st century, Jane Jacobs's writings on legal and political perspectives effectively influenced urban planners to take into broader consideration of resident experiences and needs while planning."
"Urban planning answers questions about how people will live, work and play in a given area and thus, guides orderly development in urban, suburban and rural areas."
"Urban planners are also responsible for planning the efficient transportation of goods, resources, people and waste..."
"...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..."
"Since most urban planning teams consist of highly educated individuals that work for city governments, recent debates focus on how to involve more community members in city planning processes."
"Urban planning is an interdisciplinary field that includes aspects of civil engineering, architecture, geography, political science, environmental studies, design sciences, history, economics, sociology, anthropology, business administration, and other fields."
"Practitioners of urban planning are concerned with research and analysis, strategic thinking, engineering architecture, urban design, public consultation, policy recommendations, implementation, and management."
"It is closely related to the field of urban design, and some urban planners provide designs for streets, parks, buildings, and other urban areas."
"The discipline of urban planning is the broader category that includes different sub-fields such as land-use planning, zoning, economic development, environmental planning, and transportation planning."
"Another important aspect of urban planning is that the range of urban planning projects include the large-scale master planning of empty sites or Greenfield projects as well as small-scale interventions and refurbishments of existing structures, buildings, and public spaces."
"Pierre Charles L'Enfant in Washington, D.C., Daniel Burnham in Chicago, LĂșcio Costa in BrasĂ­lia, and Georges-Eugene Haussmann in Paris planned cities from scratch, and Robert Moses and Le Corbusier refurbished and transformed cities and neighborhoods to meet their ideas of urban planning."
"Creating the plans requires a thorough understanding of penal codes and zonal codes of planning."
"Sustainable development was added as one of the main goals of all planning endeavors in the late 20th century when the detrimental economic and the environmental impacts of the previous models of planning had become apparent."