ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses four aspects of urban design's temporal dimension. First, as activities are dynamic in space and time, environments are used differently at different times. Second, environments will change over time and some places will grow while others decline. Third, the pace and nature of change will vary from place to place, and some urban design aspirations will be permanent and others ephemeral. Finally, although environments relentlessly change over time, a high value is often placed on some degree of continuity and stability. Facilitating and encouraging the use of urban environments requires understanding the effects of the cycle of light-and-dark, day-and-night and of the seasons, which promote related cycles of activity. Cycles of activity are also grounded in the changing seasons which vary in impact the further one moves from the equator. Mono-functional areas, whether as a consequence of functional zoning or market processes, tend to be narrowly time-specialised.
