ABSTRACT
This chapter provides the conventional technocratic urban planning approach. It discusses the criticisms of technocratic approach as they emerge from Jane Jacobs' work. The chapter introduces various alternatives focused on a far more complex outlook on what the "urban" and urban planning really mean. While achieving a common definition of the urban is elusive within urban planning, the debate is still open and shows a welcome degree of progress. The expression urban planning refers to the processes and patterns of action and regulation through which public actors control the use of land and buildings. A dense concentration of individuals is one of the crucial conditions for a­ flourishing urban diversity. Diversity is what fosters a city's vitality and prosperity because it enables people to learn from the successes and failures of myriad human experiences. Nomocratic planning has been highlighted in urban planning theory by Stefano Moroni, Nurit Alfasi and Juval Portugali, Randall Holcombe, and Chris Webster and Lawrence Lai.
