Table of Contents
Town Planning
Introduction
Town planning is the process of designing and regulating land use in urban, suburban and rural areas to create livable and sustainable communities using tools such as zoning, land-use planning, transportation planning, and urban design. Town planners work in various organizations and collaborate with other professionals.
Olympic Sport
Town planning is an event that was part of the art competitions at the Olympic Games. It first appeared in the 1928 Amsterdam Games and was included in the next three consecutive Olympic Games. The art competitions were introduced in 1912 as a way to promote inclusion and featured five categories: architecture, literature, music, painting, and sculpture. In the town planning event, gold, silver, and bronze medals were awarded to the top entries. The 1928 gold medal was awarded to German architect Alfred Hensel for his work on a sports and leisure park in the east of the Dutzendteich lake in Germany. 1)
Planned Communities
Planned Communities, also known as “master-planned communities” or “new towns,” are towns or neighborhoods that have been intentionally designed and built according to a specific set of guidelines or principles. These communities are typically developed by private companies or individuals, rather than by government agencies.
Some planned communities include:
- Arcosanti in Arizona, United States. A planned community that was built with the goal of creating a sustainable and environmentally-friendly urban environment. The town is designed around the concept of “arcology,” which combines architecture and ecology. 2)
- Ciudad Real Central in Spain. A planned community built during the real estate boom of the early 2000s, however it was never inhabited and it's now abandoned. 3)
- Celebration in Florida, United States. Developed by the Walt Disney Company as a model for a “new town” that would promote a sense of community and traditional values. It features a mix of traditional and contemporary architecture, and is known for its highly-planned layout and Disney-inspired theme. 4)
- The Villages, Florida, United States: A large planned community designed for retirees, featuring a variety of recreational amenities and a strong sense of community. 5)