Urban Planning Concepts and City Structures

Essential Urban Planning and City Structure Terms

Old Town Characteristics

Old Town: This corresponds to the historical center, the oldest part of town, usually occupied by old buildings separated by narrow streets that form the core from which urban areas subsequently developed. It has remained a center of artistic and historical interest and usually has an irregular plan. Their homes, which are often not owned by the residents, are inhabited by the poorer classes, although currently there is a tendency toward being inhabited by a higher social class due to the reconstruction and rehabilitation of their homes.

The Business Center

Business Center: This is the area of the city where the main centers of tertiary jobs are located; it is the central district of Western cities specialized in banking and trade.

Dormitory Towns and Commuting

Dormitory Town: A city that acts as a dormitory for people working in the downtown area, causing a daily shift. Dormitory towns are located on the periphery and arise when people could not afford industrial or residential construction in the center. The ground is cheaper and houses are more modest, lacking many facilities whose absence is justified by the proximity of the city.

Conurbation and City Networks

Conurbation: Several cities are interconnected by trade and economic ties in general, as well as cultural and politico-administrative links. They weave together through the parallel growth of their suburbs, but still maintain their independence.

Chabolismo and Shanty Towns

Chabolismo: This designates spontaneous and uncontrolled urban agglomerations without the minimum conditions of hygiene and habitability. The shanty is fairly common in the suburbs of cities in both developed and underdeveloped countries.

Urban Expansion and Widening

Widen: This refers to that part of the city that corresponds to a broadening of the town itself. During the 19th century, urban growth required the construction of neighborhoods outside the boundaries of the walls: the urban development.

Metropolis and Metro Areas

Metropolis: A word used by geographers and urban sociologists to refer to very large cities that play the role of regional capitals and major business centers, whose influence extends over satellite cities more or less close by. Within this radius of influence, the term applies to the metro area.

Urban Background and Plan Types

Urban Background: This is the result of combining constructed surfaces and unbuilt surfaces. The plane reflects the physical form of the city and shows urban development through history. The main types of plans are:

• Irregular or disordered flat
• Radiocentric flat
• Orthogonal (angle) plane
• Elongated flat
• Apparently messy flat
• Mixed flat

Suburban Areas and Peripheries

Suburban: An adjective referring to any space near or outside a city's periphery. There has been a frequent appearance of suburban areas, occasioned by the annexation of neighboring municipalities or by the appearance of a set of urban units attached to an ancient city.