Defining the unitary types of urban uses: urban uses, land uses and land-use zones

Abstract

It is clear that urban planning is not a theoretical science, but an applied field. However, this does not imply – or justify – the lack of an analytical field that would lay the scientific foundations of urban planning and guide planning practice. This field, which we call urbanology, must consist of a theory of urban uses, since the latter constitute the foundation of all international planning practice. As part of the process of formation of this theory, the present paper focuses on defining the unitary types of urban uses, that is, the units which constitute the smallest, not further divisible typological elements of the organisation of urban space. We begin with the definitions of the basic concepts of urbanology, namely: urban use, unitary type of urban use, land use and institutionalised land-use zone. We then attempt to specify the criteria for determining the unitary types of urban uses, which when applied to Greek space leads to the specification of 330 types of urban uses. We also demonstrate that this work does not only concern the analysis of urban space and the survey stage of urban planning, but also planning proposals and legislation.