The kind of art urban design is

Abstract

Advancing the art of urban design invites scrutiny of ‘the kind of art urban design is’. Accordingly, this paper first discusses urban design as art, then uses Fokt’s framework for defining art and Lalo’s classification of arts to suggest fresh interpretations of urban design as an art. The paper then relates urban design to other arts, drawing attention to urban design’s affinity with architecture, landscape architecture, interior and garden design. The paper suggests that urban design can be richer for being an art, without neglecting the possibility for it to be functional or participatory. Advancing urban design as an art implies attention towards suitable means of distilling and instilling collective urban meaning.