Historical Development of Urban Planning Theory: Review and Comparison of Theories in Urban Planning

Abstract

Discipline of urban planning only developed around a century back with the first academic school at the University of Liverpool in 1909. However, the theory of this discipline is relatively older and might date to varying timelines around various parts of the world. However, modern urban planning discipline has got birth in the US and Western Europe. Early development in the theory of urban planning develops challenges for the cities. In response to such challenges, the planning approaches seem to adapt to the needs of emerging regimes evident from the high-scale urban renovation of Paris by Haussmann. This is called the Progressive Model of Planning wherein planners of the time struggled to deal with the challenges imparted by the Industrial Revolution through scientific and engineering-based knowledge. Early urban planning efforts were mostly anarchist movements that reacted to the social issues of the time and include Garden City, Radiant City, Broadacre, etc. This study sought to present these theoretical considerations with respect to certain development classifications in urban planning. Accordingly, the methodology of the research study comprises the following sections/segments for a better understanding of urban planning at different times: i. Pre-History of Urban Planning ii. Foundational Years iii. Modernism (Rational Planning) iv. Post Modernism (Post war suburbia) v. Current Era In short, it is concluded that cities have emerged as a result of conscious decisions. Accordingly, looking into the planning theory requires due consideration of the planning approaches utilized over time. This perceives that planning theory is essentially the study of the decisions made from intuition and that is equally right because planning theory and practice development are in parallel.