About Book

Urban planning is a technical and political process concerned with the use of land and design of the urban environment, including transportation networks, to guide and ensure the orderly development of settlements and communities. Urban areas are engines of economic growth. It is important for education, health care, culture, technological innovation, entrepreneurship, social service, government administration, and communications with the world. They create opportunities for jobs employment and livelihood. They are as well focal points for rural hinterlands to alleviate rural poverty. There is a growing recognition that urbanization is necessary to realize economic growth potential, and that rural-urban linkage must be strengthened. Urban planning is an interdisciplinary field that includes civil engineering, architecture, human geography, politics, social science and design sciences. The book is a compilation of selected chapters, of great significance for understanding the urban planning and development. All the chapters have been comprehensively reviewed and cover some recent aspects about urban planning. It deals with sustainable urban development, land use planning dynamics, solidarity economy, land transformation, hydrological elements, city performance, evaluating urban heat and infrastructure projects. It critically assesses the role and impact of urban planning processes, with regard to addressing the scale and magnitude of current urbanization challenges. The book broadly outlines the global perspectives on urban planning followed by emergence and nature of urban planning. An overview of urban planning instruments follows with emphasis on currents approaches being applied and their possible impact addressing the daunting urbanization challenges.

Preface............................................................................................................v

Chapter 1 Cost-Benefit Evaluation Tools on the Impacts of Transport Infrastructure Projects on Urban Form and Development...............1

Abstract ..................................................................................................1

1. Introduction ..........................................................................................2

2. Assessing sustainability of urban form and transport

relationship.............................................................................................3

3. Transport project and policy evaluation in academic literature.7

4. Key base indicators for the cost-benefit applications..................17

5. Cost-benefit evaluation.......................................................................30

6. Conclusion............................................................................................31

Acknowledgements.............................................................................33

Conflict of interest..............................................................................33

Chapter 2 Evaluating Urban Heat Island Effects in Rapidly Developing Coastal Cities.............................................................................................45

Abstract.................................................................................................45

1. Introduction..........................................................................................46

2. Methodology........................................................................................47

3. The single-channel algorithm...........................................................49

4. Results and discussion.......................................................................52

5. Conclusion and limitation.................................................................58

Acknowledgements.............................................................................59

Conflicts of interest.............................................................................59

Author contributions..........................................................................59

Chapter 3 Smart Specialisation Strategies as Drivers for (Smart) Sustainable

Urban Development.................................................................................63

Abstract.................................................................................................63

1. Introduction..........................................................................................64

2. Setting the overall policy framework for S3.................................65

3. S3: how far do place and space matter?........................................70

4. Urban patterns as cognitive infrastructure for successful S3....73

Acknowledgements.............................................................................85

Chapter 4 Measuring Urban Development and City Performance..................90

Abstract.................................................................................................90

1. Introduction..........................................................................................91

2. Theoretical background and applied practices.............................91

3. Selection of indicators........................................................................96

4. Selection of cities.................................................................................96

5. Data structure and categorization...................................................97

6. Criteria weighting...............................................................................98

7. Multiattribute decision models and system of indicators’

simulation with computer-based programs................................103

8. Problem modeling............................................................................107

9. Conclusion and future development............................................116

Chapter 5 Assessing Hydrological Elements as Key Issue for Urban

Development in Arid Regions.............................................................123

1. Introduction ......................................................................................123

2. Methodology ....................................................................................124

3. Case studies ......................................................................................126

Chapter 6 Post-Industrial Land Transformation – An Approach to Sociocultural

Aspects as Catalysts for Urban Redevelopment.............................158

1. Introduction ......................................................................................158

2. Socio-cultural aspects as catalysts for post-industrial

redevelopment ..................................................................................160

3. Applied theory – The impact of socio-cultural aspects in

post-industrial redevelopment.......................................................170

4. Concluding remarks ........................................................................179

Chapter 7 Sustainable Urban Development Through the Empowering of

Local Communities.................................................................................189

1. Introduction ......................................................................................189

2. The relationship between larger Behaviour Settings

(European, National, Regional and Local)

and good governance.......................................................................191

3. The relationship between the Behaviour Settings of the subunits

and good governance.......................................................................204

4. Conclusion .........................................................................................217

5. Acknowledgement ...........................................................................218

Chapter 8 Cooperative Development and Land Use Planning Dynamics in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Quest for Socio Solidarity Economy and Partnership in Sustainable Urban Development............................221

1. Introduction........................................................................................221

2. Study approach.................................................................................224

3. Results, discussion and synthesis .................................................226

4. Synthesis and concluding statements ..........................................244

Citation......................................................................................................249

Index...........................................................................................................251

About Author

Theodore Benoit attained his Ph.D. in Urban Studies from Technological University, Kamloops. He is a Guest Lecturer at University College, Minas Gerais. He is actively engaged in the researches focused on urban planning, urban environment and regional planning. He has travelled and lectured extensively throughout Europe and the United States; primarily for higher education. Benoit has written numerous papers, articles and book chapters in the field of town planning, urban design and environmental planning. He has been an eminent speaker in seminars across Europe, America and Asia.