ABSTRACT
Turning ideas into action, urban planning is a mechanism expected to function in the transformation of society according to objectives pre-set collectively. Whether planning has achieved what is intended remains a task of historical stocktaking (Friedmann 1987), and such an evaluation could most likely yield mixed results. This chapter approaches planning from the perspective of its three forms: zoning, for the regulation of physical development; spatial land-use plans for the configuration of city structures, following ideas about human settlements; and processes of plan making, for the coordination of social stakeholders’ interests. The nature of these three forms of urban planning is elaborated to probe how planning can turn ideas into action, and thus shape cities in line with planned goals.
