ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that the kind of planning and governing practices that characterize the modern metropolis have become obsolete to confront the urban crisis. It explores alternative strategies that could open the way for a new urban paradigm for 21st century. "Functional City" was the foundation and the beginning of the widespread introduction of zoning regulations that very fundamentally have been shaping our built and social environment. The exact expression of the "Functional City" has varied greatly from one culture and ideology to the next, but the fundamental analysis and mindset from which to implement planning strategies has been the same. The chapter proposes that there are ways, in which humans may co-inhabit in geographic vicinity creating a certain density and size, considered a metropolitan region or city. When life becomes too unaffordable and/or commuting/transportation too time consuming due to congestion and inefficiency or too risky due to environmental hazards or crime, the city's creative capital quickly begins to decline.
