Urban Design: Some Relevant Social Forces in Developing Societies

Abstract

In developing societies a series of interrelated changes are occurring which are and will continue to have a major effect on the nature of urban life and, in turn, on settlement patterns. Urban designers must either ride with these trends or face directly their spatial implications. Among trends noted are major shifts in class composition with class substituting for ethnic homogeneity in residential choices, the dominance of the consumption and entertainment culture in the use of public space, the upswing in violence against property and personal safety in housing and locational preferences, and the increasingly endemic outbreaks of collective violence.