Urban planning involves creating a vision and goals for a community by identifying issues, analyzing trends, engaging citizens, and determining how the community will grow and adapt to change. Planning shapes cities, towns, and regions, and can include areas like land use, zoning, parks, housing, transportation, and economic development. The role of a planner is to enhance quality of life by helping design the built environment from buildings to roads to parks to ensure communities are great places to live, work, and play.

1. URBAN PLANNING

2. Planning creates the
vision and goals for the
community, identifies
current issues, analyzes
trends, engages
community members
about challenges and
opportunities.
Planning is called urban
planning, city planning, or
regional planning.
Planning helps create
communities
of lasting value, offering
better choices for where
and how people work
and live!
Planning engages citizens,
businesses,
and civic leaders.
Planning helps determine
how communities will
grow and how they will
adjust to change.
Planning shapes cities,
towns, regions, and even
rural areas.
WHAT IS URBAN PLANNING?

3. HOW MANY KINDS OF PLANNING ARE THERE?
Land
Use/Zoning
Parks
and
Recreation
Housing
Energy
Urban
Design
Natural
Resources
Transportation
Economic
Development

4. WHAT DO PLANNERS DO?
An urban planner is a professional who works to
enhance the quality of life. They help shape the design
and form of a city or place, from buildings to roads, and
parks and more, and work hard to ensure the
community is a great place to live, work, and play!
WHAT IS LAND USE?
Land Use is a planning method by which each parcel or
piece of land is categorized for what the land is
intended to be used for on a broad scale. Categories
such as Residential, Commercial, Industrial, Parks and
Open Space, etc. are used to define the use of land.
WHAT IS ZONING?
Zoning is the process of dividing land in a municipality
into zones (e.g. residential, industrial) in which certain
land uses are permitted or prohibited. Example: Zoning
Designation: Commercial, Permitted Uses: Retail,
Shopping, Hotels, Offices, Restaurants). Zoning includes
a zoning ordinance to explain the regulations and a
zoning map to show the land use.
LAND USE & ZONING

5. MAPS
PLAT MAP ZONING MAP AERIAL MAP

6. KEY PLANNING ICONS
Daniel Burnham
Father of City Planning
World Columbian Exposition 1893
Plan of Chicago 1909
Edward Bassett
Father of Zoning
1st Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance
Coined “parkway” and “freeway” 1916
Patrick Geddes
Father of Regional Planning
Wrote “Cities in Evolution” 1915
Ian McHarg
Father of Modern Ecology
Wrote “Design With Nature” 1969
Ecology Planning and Mapping
Ebenezer Howard
Garden Cities Movement 1898
Balanced areas of residences, industry
and agriculture, concentric pattern.
Kevin Lynch
Wrote “Image of the City” 1960
Defines edges, nodes, landmarks,
districts, and paths.
Coined “imageability” and “wayfinding”
Jane Jacobs
Wrote “The Death and Life of Great
American Cities” 1961
Urban Renewal Projects saving
neighborhoods
Rachel Carlson
American marine biologist and
conservationist
Wrote “Silent Spring” 1962

7. ELEMENTS OF A CITY
Edges
Vancouver, British Columbia New Orleans, LA
Districts
San Francisco, CA Chinatown London, England
Landmarks
New York City, NY North St. Paul, MN
Public Spaces
Chicago, IL Sienna, Italy
Transportation
Madrid, Spain
Dublin, Ireland

8. Activity – DESIGN YOUR OWN CITY!
SITE PLAN
WHAT IS SITE PLANNING?
o Arranging structures on the land and
shaping spaces between them
o An art linked to urban design, combination
of architecture and city planning
o Necessary in order for a planner to ensure
that the development and design fit in with
the character of the city and complies with
the zoning ordinance
STEPS:
o Design Your Own City
o Include: Streets, Buildings, Parks, Lakes,
Houses, Trees, Bridges, Schools, etc
o Name your City
o How many people live there? Population
o Tell us why your City is amazing!

9. Activity – PLANNING WORD SEARCH

10. HOW DO YOU PLAN TO MAKE A
DIFFERENCE?