"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..."
The development and organization of cities and towns, including the design of public spaces and the creation of transportation networks, has played an important role in shaping urban history.
History of Urbanization: The study of how and why cities came to be, and how they evolved over time.
City Form and Function: The analysis of the physical and social aspects of cities, including layout, infrastructure, and land use patterns.
Urban Infrastructure: The study of the systems that support and enable urban life, including transportation, water and waste management, housing, and public services.
Urban Design Theories: The different approaches to designing urban spaces, from the functional to the aesthetic.
Sustainability and Resilience: The concepts of building cities that can grow and adapt while minimizing environmental impact and waste.
Civic Engagement and Participatory Design: The involvement of communities in the planning and design process to ensure that their voices are heard and the designs reflect their needs.
Public Policy and Urban Planning: The relationship between government policies and the urban environment, including policies on housing, transportation, and infrastructure development.
Urban Ecology and Biodiversity: The impact of urbanization on natural habitats and wildlife and strategies to mitigate that impact.
Urban Economics: The study of urban markets, including real estate, land use, and economic development strategies.
Cultural Heritage and Preservation: The study of the social, cultural, and historical significance of cities and strategies for preserving and protecting those assets.
Social Equity: The focus on ensuring that all members of society have access to a fair share of the benefits and amenities of urban living.
Smart Cities and Technology: The use of technology to improve urban life and the development of smart infrastructure to support efficient, sustainable, and livable cities.
Urban Politics and Governance: Governance structure concerning urban planning and development, including the role of public and private actors in shaping urban environments.
Urban Health: The study of how city living affects public health and the implementation of policies that support healthy urban lifestyles for all residents.
Landscape Architecture: The study of designing outdoor spaces, including parks, public spaces, and green zones.
Environmental Planning and Design: The integration of environmental goals and sustainable principles into urban planning and design practices.
Transportation and Mobility: The provision of transportation infrastructure to support mobility within urban areas.
Place-Making and Placemaking Strategies: The strategies focused on fostering unique and thriving spaces within communities.
Mixed-Use Development: Urban development that attempts to integrate living spaces, retail, and commercial areas, with transportation links.
Growth and Development: How urban areas grow and evolve and what factors and influences shape them.
Sustainable Urban Design: Creating sustainable cities that minimize environmental impact and promote resource efficiency.
Transit-Oriented Development (TOD): Creating cities with public transportation systems that provide access to essential services such as jobs, shopping and entertainment.
New Urbanism: Building mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods that promote walking, biking, and other alternative modes of transportation.
Smart Growth: Planning cities to reduce urban sprawl, preserve farmland and natural spaces, and promote community connectivity.
Traditional Neighborhood Design: Creating neighborhoods based on traditional planning principles such as walkability and mixed-use development.
Landscape Urbanism: Integrating green spaces and natural systems into the urban fabric, creating healthier and more sustainable urban environments.
Tactical Urbanism: Using temporary and low-cost interventions to test design ideas and activate public spaces.
Participatory Planning: Engaging citizens in the decision-making process to ensure that their needs and perspectives are represented in urban design.
Adaptive Reuse: Repurposing existing buildings and infrastructure for new uses, preserving architectural heritage and reducing waste.
Responsive Design: Creating flexible and adaptable designs that respond to changing user needs and requirements over time.
"...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, Lúcio Costa in Brasília, 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."