Urban Planning and Spatial Transformation

Abstract

Urban planning and spatial transformation is a future-oriented activity, which links “scientific and technical knowledge to actions in the public domain”. Planning as a general activity is the making of an orderly sequence of actions that will lead to the achievement of a stated goal or goals. Urban planning is just a sub-class of a general activity called planning; it is concerned with managing and controlling a particular system, the urban system. The field, in particular, focuses on the use of space, shaping the geographical layout of a city, zoning specific areas for development and deciding on the location of major public facilities like utilities and transportation corridors. The fields of urban planning involve the planning, design, operation, and management of infrastructure and resources. It incorporates a collection of spatial and non- spatial data regarding transportation, household, public services and life quality, population and activities for people. The human environment is concerned with change; therefore planning concepts must be dynamic, not static to cope with this transformation. The concept of an information society has been described by many scientists and futurologists the information society depending on five main criteria; these are: technological; economy; occupational; spatial; cultural. The technological criterion refers to the development of information and communication technology, and its effects on social development. The economy criterion refers to the development of new products that affect industrial structures. The occupational criterion refers to the development of new types of work places and occupational restructuring. The spatial criterion refers to the development of different types of networks and their effects on the organization of time and space. The cultural criterion refers to the rapid increase in information in social circulation.