ABSTRACT
Town planning: an introduction The modern-day planning system is a post-war invention, with roots that may be traced to the enactment of the Town and Country Planning Act 1947. The notion of ‘planning’ land use goes back further still, arguably as far back as ancient Greece when Piraeus was laid out following a ‘grid-iron’ street plan. Consistent throughout an examination of such urban history is that society affords a measure of regulatory control to the state (i.e. the government) to supervise the use of land. What best distinguishes the 1947 legislation is its scope, principally that it established a comprehensive and universal system of land use control.
