Urban land policy: the “U” in urban is for unique

Abstract

New theories must necessarily build upon, and be capable of being tested against, a body of existing knowledge. The medieval monks had no body of existing knowledge against which to test their theories about the dimensions and requirements of angels. For the urban scholars of today it is, perhaps, the opposite problem that is having the same result. A great deal of investigative work has built up an extensive body of knowledge, but the more it grows, the less it appears amenable of general theoretical explanation. In studying the urban environment, man is of course examining himself, and it may be that it is impossible for any student to achieve the necessary degree of objectivity. Those who would seek to construct general theories must perforce build such theories around selected elements of knowledge and interpretations thereof. Both the selections and the interpretations will necessarily be influenced by their membership in particular social sub-groups of the human race. The results can only be abstractions that can at best be useful in explaining some parts of the dynamics of some cities some of the time. Dr William Alonso, in introducing his own theory, recognised the inherent limitations when he wrote: