ABSTRACT
Land use is fundamental to nature conservation, urban environmental management and sustainable development. Since cities first developed provision has been made for formal and informal open spaces, either for the privileged classes or for the mass of the people. In the United Kingdom, the rapid growth of towns and cities in the nineteenth century soon led to calls for parks to be provided for the health of factory workers. An early example, perhaps, of what we now call sustainable development, with benefits to the economy (healthier, happier and therefore more productive workers), social life (people relaxing and meeting in the parks) and the environment (as open spaces were created amongst the streets, mines and factories).
