Human settlements, especially cities, serve as the vital hubs of modern civilization. Historically, cities played mono-functional roles, often serving as trading centers, religious hubs, administrative focal points, or seats of political power. Cities were perceived as functional units in economic terms, functioning as centers for production, distribution, and consumption. They were also viewed as social organisms, exhibiting cycles of growth, equilibrium, and decay. Alternatively, cities were likened to machines where residents engaged in a wide array of personal, civic, economic, and cultural activities, or considered as political and legal entities.
Throughout the development of civilization, numerous urban settlements emerged, thrived, stagnated, decayed, and, in many cases, faded into oblivion. The historic settlements that did withstand the impact of modernization have evolved to be incredibly diverse in their activities, population, and built-form. Managing the growth of these surviving settlements has become an exceptionally challenging task.
This doesn’t necessarily imply that cities are beyond redemption. The current urban chaos and its challenges are, to a significant extent, linked to the planning process. Unlike planners in historic times, contemporary planners grapple with the absence of a satisfactory philosophical foundation for city planning. Consequently, they find themselves subject to forces beyond their control, lacking a guiding ideology to shape their convictions. Without a personal ideology, even their long-term plans become projections of today’s least objectionable proposals, which may be inconsequential in the future.
The term “city” typically denotes a large urban settlement, but there’s no universally agreed-upon size distinguishing an urban settlement as a “city” rather than a “town.” For the purpose of the discussion that follows, any settlement with a population of 50,000 persons is considered the smallest size meriting serious consideration regarding habitat quality.
Settlement Form :
The term “settlement form,” often denoted by the phrase “physical environment,” typically refers to the spatial arrangement of significant, stable elements within a city, such as buildings, streets, and utilities. The central challenge lies in determining the essence of a human settlement. Is it primarily composed of inanimate physical elements, or is it more akin to a living organism? Does it encapsulate the social structure or the economic framework?
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