When manufacturers and retailers vacate traditional locations, they leave holes in a city's fabric that signal a shifting urban-industrial terrain. Who should mend these spaces, and how should they approach the problem? Using Toronto's Dundas Square and surrounding area as a case study, this book meticulously reconstructs the redevelopment process to explore the theories and practices used. It traces the labyrinth of competing interests that can sideline and nearly overwhelm the public planning function. In these circumstances, Moore Milroy concludes that practising planners are marooned by planning theories that begin from the premise that urban space is a social construction and only secondarily a function of technology and aesthetics.

Urban Design Thinking provides a conceptual toolkit for urban design. Bridging the gap between theory and practice, it shows how the design of our cities and urban spaces can be interpreted and informed through contemporary theories of urbanism, architecture and spatial analysis. Relating abstract ideas to real-world examples, and taking assemblage thinking as its critical framework, the book introduces an array of key theoretical principles and demonstrates how theory is central to urban design critique and practice. Thirty short chapters can be read alone or in sequence, each opening a different kind of conceptual window onto how cities work and how they are transformed through design practice. Chapters range from explorations of urban morphology, typology, meaning and place identity to particular issues such as urban design codes, informal settlements, globalization, transit and creative clusters. This book is essential reading for those engaged with the practice of urban design and planning, as well as for anyone interested in the theoretical side of urbanism, architecture, and related disciplines.

There is consensus in literature that urban areas have become increasingly vulnerable to the outcomes of economic restructuring under the neoliberal political economic ideology. The increased frequency and widening diversity of problems offer evidence that the socio-economic and spatial policies, planning and practices introduced under the neoliberal agenda can no longer be sustained. As this shortfall was becoming more evident among urban policymakers, planners, and researchers in different parts of the world, a group of discontent researchers began searching for new approaches to addressing the increasing vulnerabilities of urban systems in the wake of growing socio-economic and ecological problems. This book is the joint effort of those who have long felt that contemporary planning systems and policies are inadequate in preparing cities for the future in an increasingly neoliberalising world. It argues that “resilience thinking” can form the basis of an alternative approach to planning. Drawing upon case studies from five cities in Europe, namely Lisbon, Porto, Istanbul, Stockholm, and Rotterdam, the book makes an exploration of the resilience perspective, raising a number of theoretical debates, and suggesting a new methodological approach based on empirical evidence. This book provides insights for intellectuals exploring alternative perspectives and principles of a new planning approach.

""Describes the emerging use of collaborative scenario planning practices in urban and regional planning, and includes case studies, an overview of digital tools, and a project evaluation framework. Concludes with a discussion of how scenarios can be used to address urban inequalities. Intended for a broad audience"--Provided by the publisher"--

Americans are voting with their feet to abandon strip malls and suburban sprawl, embracing instead a new type of community where they can live, work, shop, and play within easy walking distance. In The Option of Urbanism visionary developer and strategist Christopher B. Leinberger explains why government policies have tilted the playing field toward one form of development over the last sixty years: the drivable suburb. Rooted in the driving forces of the economy—car manufacturing and the oil industry—this type of growth has fostered the decline of community, contributed to urban decay, increased greenhouse gas emissions, and contributed to the rise in obesity and asthma. Highlighting both the challenges and the opportunities for this type of development, The Option of Urbanism shows how the American Dream is shifting to include cities as well as suburbs and how the financial and real estate communities need to respond to build communities that are more environmentally, socially, and financially sustainable.

Design for London was a unique experiment in urban planning, design and strategic thinking. Set up in 2006 by Mayor Ken Livingstone and his Architectural Advisor, Richard Rogers, the brief for the team was ‘to think about London, what made London unique and how it could be made better’. Sitting within London government but outside its formal statutory responsibilities, it was given freedom to question and challenge. The team had no power or money, but it did have the licence to operate without the usual constraints of government. With introductions from Ken Livingstone and Richard Rogers, Design for London covers the tumultuous and heady period of the first decade of this century when London was a test bed for new ideas. It outlines how key projects such as the London Olympics, public space programmes, high street regeneration and greening programmes were managed, critically examines the lessons that might be learnt in strategic urban design and considers how a design agenda for London could be developed in the future.

This book examines a range of practical developments that are happening in education as conducted in urban settings across different scales. It contains insights that draw upon the fields of urban planning/urbanism, geography, architecture, education and pedagogy. It brings together current thinking and practical experience from German and international perspectives. This discussion is organised in four segments: schools and the neighbourhood; education and the neighbourhood; education and the city and finally, education and the region. Contributors cover a wide range of contemporary and significant socio-political aspects of education over the last decade. They reinforce emergent thinking that space and its urban context are important dimensions of education. This book also underscores the need for more research in the relationships between education and urban development itself. Current urban planning does not fully connect our understanding in education with what we know in the spatial and planning sciences. Accordingly, this release is an early attempt to bring together a growing body of integrated and interdisciplinary reflection on education theory and practice.