ABSTRACT
This chapter explains planning at an urban/municipal level, rather than federal/state/provincial parks and wilderness preservation areas. Another objective of this work is to assist with a historical review of ecological research in the planning literature. In terms of the integration of ecological systems with land use planning, Jack Ahern points out that there are a wide range of names given to this method of planning, applied inconsistently in the literature. Timothy Beatley pointed out at the start of 20th century that only a handful of planning scholars had expertise and training in ecology and conservation. Since the birth of the profession in the early 20th century, urban planning has sought to organize and stabilize society through the systematic disposition of land use and rational design. Prior to the 1990s, the planning profession may have been more focused on built form, municipal politics and patterns of urbanization and suburban settlements.