Epilogue Imagining future cities

“Imagining future cities” contrasts the idea of the human city with the robot city, an idea that is never far away from the cities of the future we see in science fiction films. As some of these future visions demonstrate, the ideal city contains elements of both the human and robot city and is powered by big data and technological developments, as well as human connections and recognizable hubs like the bar, bazaar, and branch library. As well as function and commerce, city planners of the future will need to remember the roles of community and interaction in keeping cities alive.

5. Metropolis and megaregion

“Megalopolis and megaregion" outlines what happens when cities and conurbations merge. Both terms are used to describe clustered multi-city regions in America and elsewhere. City plans since 1900 have focused on efficiency and connection, and local governments struggle to keep up with urban growth. Cities around the world have implemented plans to contain the outward spread of urban development, protecting greenbelts, green centers, and woodlands. These merged cities have led to larger-scale thinking for planners, but city planning remains a local and regional activity, with planners working with local authorities and aiming to improve people’s everyday lives.

2. The suburban solution

Between the 1940s and 1970s, new lower-density satellite developments were made possible by transport and travel innovations. “The Suburban Solution” describes how suburbs were conceived and marketed as healthy, pleasant alternatives to industrial hubs. Some suburban developments and new towns were successful in easing the overpopulation of nearby cities and providing a quieter life. They have been criticized for their bland appearance, lack of definition, and inefficient use of land. Suburbs, satellites, and garden cities increased families’ reliance on cars, contributing to traffic. New approaches to suburbia aim to address these problems, building in healthy walks and accessible community services.

6. Nature in the city

Cities are embedded and enmeshed in natural settings and systems. “Nature in the city” focuses on the role of city planning in preserving and regulating the interactions between these natural systems and the community. Parks and green spaces act as the lungs of a city, providing clean air and space; in some communities, access to parks has become a political issue. Ways to make cities more environmentally friendly include solar energy, water conservation, and reduction of automobile use, including ride-hailing services. Some planners may need to go against the long-standing demands of their profession and leave some areas completely undeveloped.

4. Contested communities

City planning allocates the costs and benefits of urban living, and therefore is inherently political. “Contested communities” outlines the development of formal municipal zoning as an alternative to the privatization of desirable land by powerful groups. Zoning quickly became a useful and widely adopted planning tool. It was also a vehicle for racial and economic bias, and some cities are still experiencing its legacy. For many years, city planning neglected women’s safety and travel needs, and women’s contributions to planning were more likely to take place on the ground. What are the alternatives to top-down planning? Can planners replace traditional patterns of gentrification and displacement with urban revitalization?

1. Streets and buildings

“Streets and buildings” looks at the fundamental building blocks of cities, comparing the American New World planning style to that of European countries. European cities show signs of expansion through incremental growth, while America and Canada’s transparent gridded layouts reveal shorter histories. Nineteenth-century aesthetic changes led to a higher demand for off-grid curving streets and proximity to nature. When colonizers designed new cities, they prioritized order and growth, often reproducing the building style of their home countries. Newly independent countries often focused on the symbolic aspects of city planning and outsourced the practical considerations, creating contradictions between masterplans and practice.

7. Unnatural disasters and resilient cities

How can cities protect themselves from social and political conflict, and environmental stressors from climate change? “Unnatural disasters and resilient cities” looks at how these threats have affected wealthy and less wealthy cities around the world, showing how communities differ in vulnerability to death, damage, and disruption from these events. Planners working in areas marked by sectarian violence need to be aware of local history and sensitivities. After disasters, ambitious plans for remaking cities are rarely implemented. Attempts to remake a city after a disaster, and even protect it from one, are more effective when executed at a local level.

3. Saving the center

“Saving the Center” looks at the history of central business districts and the initiatives developed to clean up undesirable areas around them, making them more attractive to businesses and the middle classes. Planners tackling this issue adopted a highly targeted approach, often letting stable or vibrant areas fall into disuse as a result. Critics of this top-down approach included the architecture writer Jane Jacobs, who called on planners to work on a smaller scale and reprioritize public spaces and the existing social fabric. The revitalization of London’s formerly derelict Docklands is a prototype for postindustrial expansion that has been reproduced successfully elsewhere in the world.

Introduction

The Introduction explains exactly what city planning is. It involves multiple actors including elected officials, professional staff in government agencies, citizens, and the real estate industry. The dimensions of the field are seen in the missions of professional organizations in Britain, Canada, the United States, and Australia. The spread of academic planning education from a handful of European and American institutions to universities around the world demonstrates the global reach of the practice and profession of city planning.