Among the numerous aspects to consider when planning an urban settlement, the legal issues of boundaries will be major considerations. During the development of a master planned town in Montgomery County of Texas, the Woodlands lawyer legal services would have been vital in establishing boundaries, for example, with the counties Shenandoah and Conroe. If it is appointed The Woodlands attorney would have worked with at least one Houston attorney when annexation of the community’s portions that were part of the adjacent counties was under discussion.
As a concept of development, community planning has been done even in ancient times in Mesopotamia, Central America, Egypt, Greece, and Rome, to mention a few places. The Roman system of planning has been the most understood, since it was the most preserved, although planning has been evident in the ancient cities of Ur, Babylon, Miletus and Alexandria. The Inca, Aztec and Chinese civilizations have had planned cities and communities as well.
Although urban planning is not a major concern of ordinary people, understanding the aspects considered in urban planning could help us appreciate our community better, and perhaps even advance suggestions to make it more conducive to living and residency. At the very least it might reduce our tendency to complain about its aspects we do not like, understanding that perhaps there had been no choice then.
A few of these aspects include:
Aesthetics: While this may be difficult to define and thus apply in an urban setting, general concepts may be set. Systems and regulations on building heights, styles, sizes and similar factors may be established to prevent aesthetic clutter. This is especially true in older towns where new building styles can clash aesthetically with the old ones. Too much man-made contraptions such as signposts, streetlights and building signs could also cause aesthetic clutter.
Safety: Like castles built on crags and mountains to reduce chances of capture by enemies and invaders, olden cities were built on high ground for defense purposes and away from floods. Today, however, many communities sprawl on flood-prone low areas and even along earthquake fault lines, more out of development necessity for growth than preference.
Such location negatives may be counteracted, though, via man-made structures like dikes, levees, or storm drain systems. Danger from earthquakes may be offset by limiting building heights, for instance, or not constructing high structures.
Transport amenities: Planning must take into account spaces for roads, parking, and mass transport possibilities later. Zoning might be a way, such as limiting high-rise, high-density establishments such as office and commercial buildings near transport centers, and residential areas further into the suburbs. City ordinances can enforce such concepts. But removing residential areas from urban centers will encourage commuting, with its attendant environmental problems.
Environment: Higher-density areas necessarily generate more trash per area unit in this consumerist society, where almost everything should be disposable. Furthermore, the extensive use of concrete minimizes spaces where plants could grow and flourish, reducing carbon dioxide levels in the area. Planning should thus include greenbelts, tree lanes and other plant-oriented spaces as much for aesthetic as for environmental purposes.
Tags: city, design, Industry, planning, urban