This book is comprised of articles and papers that have come about after years of academic and applied research endeavors of the practitioners and academicians in the field of urban and regional development planning. Most of these articles have already been presented and deliberated in national and international conferences held in different parts of the world, namely: Indianapolis, Newcastle upon Tyne, Rome, Istanbul, Cairo, Alexandria, Vienna, Stockholm, Jeddah, Riyadh, Jubail, Islamabad, Penang, and Bandung. The concepts and case studies described in this book bring home the fact that the world is undergoing a gyrational transition. Not only are developed and developing countries getting influenced by each other and transforming due to a process of circular causation, but each of the two sets of countries are also undergoing a simultaneous internal transformation due to the differential infusion of technology and indigenous entrepreneurship. As a consequence, highly diversified urban systems are getting integrated interactively, leading to the formation of a global village and achievement of a unity in diversity!

This book is comprised of articles and papers that have come about after years of academic and applied research endeavors of the practitioners and academicians in the field of urban and regional development planning. Most of these articles have already been presented and deliberated in national and international conferences held in different parts of the world, namely: Indianapolis, Newcastle upon Tyne, Rome, Istanbul, Cairo, Alexandria, Vienna, Stockholm, Jeddah, Riyadh, Jubail, Islamabad, Penang, and Bandung. The concepts and case studies described in this book bring home the fact that the world is undergoing a gyrational transition. Not only are developed and developing countries getting influenced by each other and transforming due to a process of circular causation, but each of the two sets of countries are also undergoing a simultaneous internal transformation due to the differential infusion of technology and indigenous entrepreneurship. As a consequence, highly diversified urban systems are getting integrated interactively, leading to the formation of a global village and achievement of a unity in diversity!

"A compilation of essays by leading international landscape architects, city planners, urban designers, and architects about the need for ecological urban design. Chapters explore the economic, environmental, and public health benefits of integrating nature more fully into cities, including urban green spaces, streetscapes, and buildings"--

This trailblazing book outlines an interdisciplinary "process model" for urban design that has been developed and tested over time. Its goal is not to explain how to design a specific city precinct or public space, but to describe useful steps to approach the transformation of urban spaces. Urban Ecological Design illustrates the different stages in which the process is organized, using theories, techniques, images, and case studies. In essence, it presents a "how-to" method to transform the urban landscape that is thoroughly informed by theory and practice. The authors note that urban design is viewed as an interface between different disciplines. They describe the field as "peacefully overrun, invaded, and occupied" by city planners, architects, engineers, and landscape architects (with developers and politicians frequently joining in). They suggest that environmental concerns demand the consideration of ecology and sustainability issues in urban design. It is, after all, the urban designer who helps to orchestrate human relationships with other living organisms in the built environment. The overall objective of the book is to reinforce the role of the urban designer as an honest broker and promoter of design processes and as an active agent of social creativity in the production of the public realm.

Based on cases and interviews in Britain, Europe and the United States, this book explains the recurrence of regional planning and of initiatives in regional governance, in a wide range of advanced industrial countries. Providing an analysis of the nature of regional planning and governance, the book traces the development of regional planning and the institutions associated with it. It also looks at the way that regions have been changing their form under pressure from economic and political developments and examines how regional planning and governance has responded, comparing experience in the UK, the rest of Europe and the US. In concluding that regionalism is an imperative feature of politics in most countries, associated with almost any of the variety of forms of governance, the author offers a major appraisal of the significance of regional planning in an intemational context

"Based on a workshop on Regional Approaches to Parks and Protected Areas in North America, held at Tijuana, Mexico, March 1999"--p. xv.

Since the early 1990s there has been a global trend towards governmental devolution. However, in Australia, alongside deregulation, public–private partnerships and privatisation, there has been increasing centralisation rather than decentralisation of urban governance. Australian state governments are responsible for the planning, management and much of the funding of the cities, but the Commonwealth government has on occasion asserted much the same role. Disjointed policy and funding priorities between levels of government have compromised metropolitan economies, fairness and the environment. Australia’s Metropolitan Imperative: An Agenda for Governance Reform makes the case that metropolitan governments would promote the economic competitiveness of Australia’s cities and enable more effective and democratic planning and management. The contributors explore the global metropolitan ‘renaissance’, document the history of metropolitan debate in Australia and demonstrate metropolitan governance failures. They then discuss the merits of establishing metropolitan governments, including economic, fiscal, transport, land use, housing and environmental benefits. The book will be a useful resource for those engaged in strategic, transport and land use planning, and a core reference for students and academics of urban governance and government.