Urban Planning: Shaping Cities and Addressing Needs
Public Authorities and Urban Planning
Municipalities and autonomous regions represent citizens and often mediate between real estate interests and citizen needs. They use town planning schemes to structure urban morphology and address imbalances and problems, aiming to meet everyone’s needs.
Planning and Development Plans
In cities, diverse interests necessitate rules for territorial order. Development plans, technical tools created by councils, aim to correct errors and deficiencies in public services and equipment. Key objectives include:
1. Defining Land Use: In Spain, land is categorized into:
a) Urban Land: Occupied by buildings, streets, and utilities.
b) Buildable Land: Land for potential urban transformation.
c) Non-Buildable Land: Protected natural, agricultural, or forest areas.
d) General Systems: Land for municipal operations, green spaces, and utilities.
2. Setting Urban Standards: Plans specify street widths, building features, and guide urban area recovery.
Urban Morphology: The City Map
Introduction: Urban form is analyzed through plans and fabric. City construction evolves with changing needs, transportation, and political views, resulting in various city maps.
City Maps:
a) Irregular Plane: Pre-industrial cities with narrow, winding streets, often within walls. Historic centers undergoing rehabilitation.
b) Radiocentric Map: Streets radiate from a central point or square, often linked by concentric streets.
c) Grid Plan: Straight streets intersect at right angles, forming rectangular blocks. Used in colonial cities and modern urban designs like Barcelona’s Eixample.
Urban Morphology of the Twentieth Century
a) The Garden City: E. Howard’s concept of new cities with detached houses, gardens, and a central park, aiming for harmony between city and countryside.
b) The Rationalist Functionalist City: Le Corbusier’s idea of apartment blocks using concrete to free land for gardens, emphasizing standardization and utility.
Urban Functions
Introduction: Daily activities like living, working, and recreation shape city space. Cities are multifunctional, with larger cities having more diverse functions. Some cities specialize in specific activities.
a) The Residential Function: Housing segregation occurs based on economic, social, and cultural factors. Better-located areas with higher environmental quality are occupied by wealthier classes.