Town & Regional Planning: Books

Sustainable initiatives -- Research in context -- Assumptions -- Concepts -- Tama New Town -- Initial survey : preliminary propositions -- Abstractions : typologies -- Applied prototypes -- Measuring performance : infrastructures -- Site concepts -- Low density prototypes -- Medium density prototypes -- High density prototypes -- Future directions -- Appendix: carbon calculations.

'Cities and Design' explores the relationships between design and urban environments. It traces the intellectual roots of urban design, presents a critical appraisal of the imprint and effectiveness of the design professions in shaping urban environments, and examines the role of design in the material culture of contemporary cities.

City Design describes the history and current practice of the four most widely accepted approaches to city design: the Modernist city of towers and highways that, beginning in the 1920s, has come to dominate urban development worldwide but is criticized as mechanical and soul-less; the Traditional organization of cities as streets and public places, scorned by the modernists, but being revived today for its human scale; Green city design, whose history can be traced back thousands of years in Asia, but is becoming increasingly important everywhere as sustainability and the preservation of the planet are recognized as basic issues, and finally Systems city design, which includes infrastructure and development regulation but also includes computer aided techniques which give designers new tools for managing the complexity of cities.

This book addresses the on-going crisis of informality in rapidly growing cities of the global South. The authors offer a Southern perspective on planning theory, explaining how the concept of conflicting rationalities complements and expands upon a theoretical tradition which still primarily speaks to global ‘Northern’ audiences. De Satgé and Watson posit that a significant change is needed in the makeup of urban planning theory and practice – requiring an understanding of the ‘conflict of rationalities’ between state planning and those struggling to survive in urban informal settlements – for social conditions to improve in the global South. Ethnography, as illustrated in the book’s case study – Langa, a township in Cape Town, South Africa – is used to arrive at this conclusion.

Providing unique, accessible lessons on urban design, this title in the bestselling 101 Things I Learned® series is a perfect resource for students, recent graduates, general readers, and even seasoned professionals. Students of urban design often find themselves lost between books that are either highly academic or overly formulaic, leaving them with few tangible tools to use in their design projects. 101 Things I Learned® in Urban Design School fills this void with provocative, practical lessons on urban space, street types, pedestrian experience, managing the design process, the psychological, social, cultural, and economic ramifications of physical design decisions, and more

This book captures ground-breaking attempts to utilise culture in territorial development and regeneration processes in the context of South Africa and our 'new normal' brought by COVID-19, the fourth industrial revolution, and climate change the world over.

Soft City is about ease and comfort, where density has a human dimension, adapting to our ever-changing needs, nurturing relationships, and accommodating the pleasures of everyday life. How do we move from the current reality in most cites--separated uses and lengthy commutes in single-occupancy vehicles that drain human, environmental, and community resources--to support a soft city approach?

Sustainable Urban Futures in Africa provides a variety of conventional and emerging theoretical frameworks to inform understandings and responses to critical urban development issues such as urbanisation, climate change, housing/slum, informality, urban sprawl, urban ecosystem services and urban poverty, among others, within the context of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) in Africa.

Becoming an Urban Planner answers these key questions:
- What do urban planners do?
- What are the educational requirements?
- How do I enter the field?
- How do I choose between the different types of planning, from land use planning to policy planning?

The second edition, Planning Law (2012), reflected more of the new constitutional dispensation that brought with it not only a focus on values and equity, but also the development of an entirely new vision and structure for planning in the three spheres of government. It introduced some basic principles, addressed the apartheid roots of planning law in South Africa and gave detailed attention to the core of planning law.

This book reconnects the process of designing with outcomes on the ground, and puts thinking about design back at the heart of what planners do. The book identifies the elements and principles of composition and explores compositional order and structure as they relate to the meaning and functionality of cities. It discusses new directions and methods, outlines the importance of both buildings and the open spaces between them.

A Chilling Classic, guaranteed to frighten you!